Happy Birth Day, Ellia!

On June 15, 2015, we welcomed our beautiful daughter, Ellia, into the family. After a week of false contractions that almost sent me running to the labor and delivery unit on a daily basis, she finally made her debut.

I woke up around 2:30 AM on June 15th to contractions that were becoming a little bit noticeable than the futile ones earlier in the week. I walked around a bit and started timing them...3-4 minutes apart. I thought it would be a good idea to at least wake Christian up, "just in case" it was the real deal. He quickly packed the car and around 3:30 AM, asked if I was ready to go. I think my reply was something like, "No, let's wait a little longer. It (the contractions) may just stop again." He peered over me as I kneeled at the foot of our bed and watched as I breathed through each contraction, which were now consistently every 3 minutes. "No, I think we need to go now." I reluctantly agreed. After a quick ride to the hospital, I checked in at labor and delivery around 4:00 AM. The nurse got me back to the room and hooked some monitors on and checked me...5 cm. Not bad, I thought, last time with Micah, I walked into the hospital at 3.5 cm and that was after 10 hours of labor! Maybe all those false contractions were actually helping to move things along. I asked the nurse to fill up the bathtub on the L&D unit because I remember spending many hours submerged in warm water when laboring with M and how much it had helped. She told me that it would take 30 minutes or so to get it filled and asked if I still wanted it. Of course, I thought, surely I would be in labor for several hours at least. I thought I had plenty of time. Apparently Ellia had another plan. By the time the tub was filled, I was 8.5 cm dilated and the contractions were right on top of each other and getting stronger by the minute. The nurse gave me a "I told you so" look and we both knew that there would be no time to even think about getting into the tub.

Just over 1 hour after arriving at the hospital and with only one strong push, I brought Miss Ellia Kei Robinson into the world. Our midwife barely made it there to catch her! Ellie may very well take on the traits of her grand entrance...intense, quick, and powerful.

She had ten fingers and ten toes, a full head of jet black curly hair, and gorgeous dark eyes. She was perfection. Our hearts grew exponentially to make room for you, little one.

Happy Birth Day, Kiddo.

Spring 2015 - Climbing Rocks, A Birthday, and Two Showers!

Today begins my attempt to keep our blog updated better! Now that we are a family of FOUR, I'm sure that will be a piece of cake! The key word here is attempt. Let's catch up on our busy busy spring season first and then we will share with you the newest member of our family, Miss E.

So, here goes SPRING!



March
As the weather began to warm up outside, the smell of spring was all around us. This not only meant time to get outside and play, but also time to start our vegetable garden! I am psyched about my new greenhouse, so at the beginning of this month, we started planting little seeds that quickly turned into seedlings.

We also started exploring more places in Knoxville and stumbled upon the zoo. After being spoiled for years with one of the best zoos in the country (St. Louis Zoo), which amazingly is also FREE, I was more than disappointed with what Knoxville had to offer. Micah, on the other hand, didn't mind at all and we ended up having a fun day exploring! With the weather being cloudy and still a little cold, we practically had the place to ourselves.

In February, we welcomed two additions to the family: Pitaya and Nori. Other than dragonfruit and seaweed, they are also our two newest chicks! We got them when they were only a few days ago and they are now quickly growing into beautiful hens. We still have to keep them separated until they are full grown so that the older hens don't peck them to death. A few more months and we'll have a grand total of five laying hens! We'll be making a lot of quiche!

March was also a very important month for one very special little boy: MICAH! On the 24th, he turned THREE. He asked for some very specific things this year for his birthday celebration: Mommy to make him a chocolate cake with fruit and trains on top, Daddy's delicious steak for dinner, and a bouldering party with his friends. He got all three wishes! Lucky, lucky boy.

"3" Pancake

Micah also celebrated his birthday at school with a Montessori tradition: the walk around the sun. We joined him at school as he proudly carried the Earth and walked around the sun THREE times to celebrate each year he has been alive. I might have teared up just a little bit. I blame the pregnancy hormones. To sum up his big day, you just have to watch the short little video below capturing all of the festivities! Enjoy :)

 

April

The first weekend of April was spent at Riverview Farms for some good ole' Easter egg hunting! A beautiful farm and wonderful people running it. We enjoyed live music by the lake, crafts and games, face painting, swingin' on the playground, flying Daddy's homemade kite, a picnic lunch, and of course searching for eggs!

Over the last 6 months or so of living in Knoxville, we have been so lucky to have met some wonderful friends. We have been out climbing with them on as many weekends as possible, exploring all the amazing sandstone that surrounds us. The hardest thing now is deciding where to go every weekend! From the Red, to the Obed, to Foster Falls, to crags we haven't even touched...the possibilities are endless! Micah always has such a blast at the crag now that he is pretty independent. Having a best crag buddy to play with is also a bonus. They love to build forts, dig in the mud, put on rock concerts with sticks and stumps, and eat lots and lots of snacks. He is starting to climb more and will scramble up boulders all day, but is hesitant to get on a rope now (hopefully that will change with time). He has a few favorite "problems" at the local crag, one of which he calls "V17". Can't wait for you to send that one day, buddy! Here are just a few pictures of our latest rock adventures!

May

With only one month to go before baby #2 makes an appearance, May was fairly low key. We still went out climbing a few times, but most weekends were spent doing fun things with Micah locally. We wanted to spend as much time as possible with him before he has to start sharing his Mommy and Daddy time with his baby sister. We also made one last trip to St. Louis to visit family and friends before we became a family a four and traveling becomes even harder to manage. We had a blast playing at the Zoo, climbing at the gym, and visiting with friends and their growing families. I think Micah had one of the best days of his life when he went back to Whitegate Montessori School to visit his old friends and teachers. When we picked him up, he was surrounded by everyone who loved and missed him, laughing and beaming from ear to ear. Oh, we miss that special place!

Micah started Music Funtime classes this year and had an end of the year music concert. It was absolutely adorable to see him on stage for the first time. He just walked right up there without hesitation and proudly sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while playing his triangle. He seemed like a natural on stage and is well on his way to becoming a musician! After the music concert, we headed over to his school for their annual end of school event. He absolutely loves Mead Montessori and he is so loved and cared for by his teachers there. Everyday when we pick him up from school, he barely acknowledges our presence and just wants to keep on playing. 

Micah with his teacher, Miss Ashley

Finally, May also marked the month to celebrate the upcoming arrival of little miss E. My very sweet and wonderful friend and co-worker, Kristen, threw me an absolutely beautiful shower at her home. Complete with adorable decorations, delicious food, and a scrumptious cake, she definitely spoiled me (and little miss E). Her house looked like it came straight out of Home and Gardens magazine! Our good friends also threw us a party at Seasons Restaurant, where they again spoiled me with a wonderful dinner, thoughtful gifts, and even a pregnancy massage! This marks the end of our spring and now onto the summer!