Ben's Birth Story

Ben's story is the most familiar - the most memorable. It was so exciting. Here Aaron and I were, a couple of kids really, making a transition into responsible adults who had to care for another person. Exciting, but terrifying. This is a long one - get comfy.
First, convincing Aaron that it was time for us to start a family too a lot of effort. He had just started going to school with a long road ahead of him, and was trying to work also. I was teaching, and directing shows. We were busy, and happy. Aaron had a hard time seeing how a baby could fit into our time schedule. We started to learn there, though, that when you pray about something that you KNOW the Lord wants you to do, you're probably going to get an affirmation. So we prayed.
I remember sitting in a restaurant one evening for dinner, when Aaron took my hands in his. He told me that he had been praying, and that he felt like I was right, and that it was time for us to start our family. He said that he had this image of a little girl in ponytails - ready to come down and join us. We laughed, and joked and said that she got her impatient streak from me. :)
Um, it took no effort at all to get pregnant. We were in Phoenix visiting my family when I realized that I was late. However, I was NOT about to start speculation among my family members. Aaron and I headed back to Houston, giggling about getting a pregnancy test as soon as we got off the plane. We went to the nearest Walgreens to the airport and took the test that next morning. We were so excited about our little secret!
I was hesitant to tell anyone at first. I didn't want to jinx it, I guess. I think I was about 11 weeks by the time we told our families. They were thrilled! We had some bills we were trying to pay, and we needed a new car - mine had been destroyed in an accident in the spring. So we moved into Aaron's parents' garage apartment to save some money. I'm not sure that we actually did, though - we ended up going to dinner almost every night!
Aaron and I were super anxious by the time the ultrasound came around. We had to sit and wait for a while - it made me crazy! We were so wound up by the time we got in there. And when we were asked by the ultrasound tech if we wanted to know the sex, both of us KNEW that she was going to say girl.
But she didn't.
I put on a smile. Aaron grinned at the thought of HIS boy. We finished up and got out to the car. I called my mom and told her, and quickly got off the phone. And I started crying.
I know. It was ridiculous. I blame the hormones.
We got back to Aaron's parents house and I went straight into the little apartment and got into the shower - ignoring Aaron's mom who was pressing for answers. Aaron went and talked to her. I sat in the bottom of the 3' X 3' shower for at least a half hour. When I got out, Bobbie Jo was banging on the door, demanding that I come out. She was fighting mad that I had upset her mom - not processing that her mom was upset just because I was upset. Aaron took some time, and tried to diffuse the situation, despite Bobbie Jo's vocal threats. Ugh. I hid and went to bed early.
By the next day, I was fine! I was having a boy and it was good. He was healthy. And I could handle it.
Not that much later, Jessica gave birth to Elijah. It was fun to have a brand new nephew, and to know that in a mere 5 months, I was going to be the one with an adorable baby to love. Four days later, the Twin Towers came down in New York City. It was horrible. I sat in my classroom for the next couple of days wondering what kind of world I was bringing a child into. Had we made a mistake? The feelings of dread and angst were miserable.
Aaron had a very sweet way to show me how excited he was that I was carrying his child. He fed me. Every morning, he would make me breakfast as I went out the door. He would make dinner every night - and always foods that I loved! I gained over 60 pounds while I was pregnant with Ben. Ridiculous.
I ended up having 3 baby showers. Jessica threw me one with all the ladies from church, the family friends, and a few friends from the singles ward. My mom and sisters came from Phoenix to be there. The teachers at school threw me a shower. Then, some of my drama students got together and threw me a shower at one of their houses. I felt so loved - and we had so much stuff! It was fantastic to be so prepared.
Ben was due on February 14th - Valentine's Day. I was in the middle of teching the senior musical, "Guys and Dolls". It was a huge stressball! The director kept changing what she wanted, my help wasn't helping as much as I thought they would, and I was exhausted. My feet were huge, and moving around was becoming more and more difficult. I saw the doctor on a Friday before the show went up and fell asleep in the waiting room. Then, when she asked how I was doing, I ended up in tears. And she told me that I was done with the show. It was such a relief, but I felt horrible. It wasn't fair to disappoint these kids that I had known for years for this baby that I didn't even know yet.
So Monday came. February 4th. I taught, and then headed to rehearsal. I talked to the people that I needed to - making sure that I had backup. I set up the last details, doing my best to cover all the bases of the show. Finishing sound and light cues. I was at school until after 7.
I came home, and Aaron asked what I wanted for dinner. We had grilled cheese and soup because I wasn't feeling that great.
I woke up the next morning and headed to the bathroom, as usual. When I was finished going, I sat there and realized that there was still dripping. I called for Aaron, and he didn't know what to tell me. So I got on the phone and called Jessica - from the toilet. "What exactly does amniotic fluid look like?" She said, "You need to call your doctor!" I sat there and thought, "Naw, there's just a little trickle - I could still teach..." Then, Aaron told me to call the school, and tell them that I was going to need a sub. I finally got up, and decided that we should probably go to the hospital. Aaron hurried around, getting ready and gathering our stuff. I stood in the closet, staring at the clothes for at least 5 minutes when Aaron came in. "What are you doing?" "I can't figure out what to wear..." He handed me his basketball shorts and the Phoenix Suns shirt, and hustled me out to the car.
We listened to the entire Dave Matthew's Crash CD on the way to the hospital. There was a lot of traffic that morning. We had called my mom in Phoenix that morning and hoped that she would make it in time. We got into the hospital and got settled and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And nothing.
My water had broken, and I was strep B positive. But there were no real contractions. So I sat there. We watched a lot of movies. Every single movie had food in it, and I was super hungry - thanks to a small dinner the night before and no breakfast. Not fun. They decided to start me on pitocin.
My mom arrived mid-day. Jessica picked her up from the airport. She was grateful to be there in time. And we sat. And the pitocin levels went up. And nothing really happened.
When they maxed out on that round of pit, they decided to try it again. And there were the same results. No real contractions. Everyone was calling, asking if we had a baby yet. I was super annoyed - I didn't want anyone around - just Aaron and my mom. And I was ready to be done!
About 9 pm, we spoke to the docs. There was some concern because I was strep B positive and my water had broken, about transmission to the baby. But they left it up to me, "We can go ahead and do a c-section now, or wait, and do one in the morning." I said, "Go ahead!" I was SO ready to hold my baby.
Aaron was in a minor panic. He was SO nervous. (But he looked so cute in scrubs!) My mom was bummed that she couldn't watch the birth, and worried for me and Aaron. I was a little dazed - I hadn't read that section of the book! It was a little surreal to be wheeled into a room on a table with your arms tied down and blue curtains all around you. I could see the docs just over the top of the curtain that was at my chest. I remember these 2 women diving into my abdomen and watching their muscles flex and they were moving things around to fish out this baby. I remember that they had to pull part of him out from under my ribs. Aaron was almost giddy, and terrified at the same time. They showed me my boy just over the curtain, and I was a little grossed out. And, it was less than 10 seconds. I wanted to examine him, but he and Aaron got wisked away while I got sewed up.
I remember sitting in post-op with the nurses trying to move me. I couldn't help as they tried to lift each of my legs individually. I felt like I was shaking like a leaf - my teeth were chattering - but I didn't feel cold. Aaron and my mom got to come in and see me, and tell me that Ben was perfect. Finally, I got moved back to my room.
I sat awake, mostly, because I really wanted to see my baby! They said that they would bring him in from the nursery after a few hours, and I was waiting. I was so glad when the nurse finally brought him in, and I got to see his fingers and toes, his sweet cheeks, and his fuzzy little head. Then, I went to sleep.
And that is how Benjamin Martin See came about. :)

Alex's Birth Story

Alex's story is probably the most spotty of my memories. Because of Aaron's leaving and teaching, well, the memories aren't all pleasant - and I have tendency to block difficult memories. So here's what I've got. Please feel free to comment, and correct me!
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We moved to Phoenix from Dallas in June of 2004. Aaron had just graduated from UT Dallas, and had gotten into Midwestern University for medical school. We had just signed up for the Army to pay for school. Ben was 2 1/2, and I was teaching at a charter school. We had bought our first house and life was seeming pretty settled.
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Alex was planned and came pretty quickly. I remember helping the drama club set up for the Halloween dance and I fell off the ladder. I called Aaron laughing - I was fine - just nervous. He happened to be at my mom's house at the time, and that's how mom figured it out. I found a great doctor, and things were good.
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Then, it came time for the ultrasound. First time, no dice. I remember walking out of that building SO MAD! Yeah, sure - I had a healthy kid - BUT WHAT KIND OF KID??? Luckily, I was able to get a second ultrasound and we did find out that she was a girl. And my doctor decided that a second c-section was the best option - so I got to pick her birthday. This was important because the Army insisted on Aaron spending 6 weeks in San Antonio that summer. (We didn't know this was a blessing at the time. The course now is much longer!) So I finally got my Alexandra - and she would be out for a whole 10 days before daddy had to leave.
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However, we were stuck on her middle name. Nothing seemed to be right. I liked Amidala - Aaron thought it was too trendy, and ridiculously Star Wars-y. He liked Elizabeth - but I just didn't feel it was right for her. We were lying in bed one Saturday morning and Ben crawled in with us. We flipped on the cartoons and were discussing the middle name issue. Ben said, "I like Aurora - like from Sleeping Beauty." Aaron and I looked at each other and said, "I like Aurora too." And it stuck.
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As the end of the school year grew closer, I directed "Steel Magnolias." The drama club threw me a baby shower - and the kids were really cute. My sisters threw me a shower, but there were just a few ladies from my ward who came - Aaron and I were in nursery and didn't know too many people. Some old friends showed up though, and we ended up with tons of really cute girl stuff.
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I was so careful with my day's off at the school, and saved them all to the end of the year. Aaron was done with school, and I took off the day before I had her. We spent the day together, and bought a new carseat and had lunch. That night, we dropped Ben off at Grandma's house for a sleepover and got everything ready for the hospital.
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We arrived at the hospital on June 2nd, and without much ado - Alex was born! She was 8 pounds, and had the roundest little face! We called our friends and loved ones. Randomly, Auntie Peanut was traveling to California and happened to be there to meet her first niece! Ben came up to the hospital with Grandma, bringing a Build a Bear dressed as Princess Aurora. He was so sweet with his new baby sister.
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We brought Alex home and before we knew it, Aaron had to leave. I cried as he left us for the airport that morning, and was miserable. (Now, I mostly blame that on my recovering hormones.) We spent lots of time at Grandma's house, but it was so hard to be away from Aaron. It was a big surprise when Grandma arranged for him to come home for a weekend.
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We did do some fun things while he was away! We painted Alex's room Tinkerbell green and Heffalump purple. We undressed all of Grandma's Build a Bears and played dress up with Alex - even with the Buzz Lightyear costume. And Alex took her first swim, naked, of course, on July 11th. The pictures are beautiful. Aaron came home at the end of July and we blessed Alex in August. She got to meet Nana and Pawpaw, Auntie Bobbie Jo and Jared. Not long after that, we took both her and Ben to Sea World in California. We were so happy to have our two kids, and to watch them grow!

Thinking about Christmas...

It's November!
It's our family tradition to make a list for Santa around the beginning of November - right after Daddy's birthday. (Which was very nice - we went to PF Changs with the whole family and enjoyed mountains of Chinese noodles!)
This past Saturday, we had a family date to Toys R Us and Cold Stone Creamery. The kids were under strict instructions that we were not buying anything - just making lists for Santa. They were only allowed to put 10 things on their lists, and there would be no "Gimme, gimmes" or "You HAVE to buy this for me"s. They were awesome, and really concentrated on what would be their 10 things.
So without further ado, here are our lists.

Dear Santa,
We have tried really hard to be good this year. Here are the things we would like for Christmas! Thank you!

Ben's list
1. Lego Hagrid's Hut
2. Lego Wampa Cave
3. Lego Emperor's Shuttle
4. Lego Atlantis sets
5. Lego Hero William Furno
6. Lego Space Police Lunar Limo
7. Ben 10 figure set of Wrath and 6/6
8. Ben 10 Ultamatrix
9. Ben 10 Armadrillo
10. Ben 10 Ultimate Humongasaur

Alex's list
1. Swan Lake Barbie and DVD set
2. Disney's Tangled 2 ft long wig
3. Disney Princess makeup
4. You and Me Baby Doll
5. Barbie Newborn Baby Doctor
6. My Little Pony Mermaid Castle
7. Webkinz Amazing Hamsters
8. Paper Jamz Guitar
9. Wipeout for Wii

Audrey's list
1. "We Did It!" Dancing Dora doll
2. LalaLoopsy doll
3. Sweet Surprise Strawberry Shortcake
4. Polly Pockets
5. Dora Puppy game for the Wii

Side note for anyone actually looking to purchase anything for my children:
Ben is easy. Legos and Ben 10. Also, he's growing like a weed. If you are buying pajamas or shirts, go for a size 12 (he's in 10s now). Alex has been more difficult. She's all over the board. Please don't get her makeup! She's wearing 6X size clothes right now, and size 12 1/2 shoes. Audrey is easier - she STILL loves Dora! Santa has already found some PPockets for her. Audrey is wearing 4T clothes, but if you buy her pants - make sure they have an adjustable waistband - she's so skinny! We're going to be in Salt Lake for 4 months this year, so they can all use warmer clothes - like sweaters and sweatshirts. :)

Happy Halloween from our little monsters!

We had our ward Trunk-or-Treat last night! We had a great time, played with friends, ate too many goodies, and got lots of candy. Happy Halloween!

Audrey's birth story

I've decided to take some time and write out each of my kiddo's birth stories. And since Audrey is the most recent, she's first. After all, you all get to be privy to my thoughts here - but this blog is really for me. :)

Audrey was well planned. Alex had been a super grouchy baby, and a very serious little girl, but she was pretty easy to deal with. She was getting closer to two, and we were getting closer to the end of medical school and moving. I didn't want to move with a newborn, but a baby would be okay - so I convinced Aaron that a third would be a good idea.

It took 4 months of trying. I get frustrated easily when things don't go exactly as I plan, and I was actively watching the calendar - counting down months until we were moving. Seriously, one more month - and I would have postponed her until after we moved.

We were excited that she was coming. That summer, we went camping to the Grand Canyon with Sissy and Robby and their boys. It was fun to see their wonderment, but not so fun to go camping while pregnant. The next week, we headed to Hawaii for 21 days of fun in the sun while Aaron completed an Ortho rotation at Tripler. I was tired - but the hotel had cable - so my 5 year old and 2 year old were easily entertained. And I wasn't about to let pregnancy keep me out of the ocean! I mentally told myself that fat old ladies still put on bathing suits - so I'd be fine. Haha. We had a great time.

Like a week after we got home from Hawaii, we had the ultrasound scheduled. Thankfully, we found out she was a girl on the first try. It was easy that she was a girl - we already had all the stuff. Officially, she was due on December 24th - but with a scheduled c-section, she came 12 days sooner - making her birthday fit into my numbers schema. A little neurotic, I know.

That was the semester of babies! Katee was in Florida working at Disney World, popping popcorn. Cousins Collin and Abby came within 2 days of each other in September. Jenna arrived at the beginning of October. 4 cousins in 4 months. My mom was in baby heaven.

Her name was a challenge. I wanted something different, a little unique. We discussed "Olivia" for a while, but when Aaron's mom called her "Ollie" it was all over! I kept mentally thinking something with a "D" - but no girls names with D really appealed to me. Aaron really liked Elizabeth (my middle name), but after being called "Sarah E-lizard-breath" by my teasing dad -I was against it. I was drawn to Audrey - after Audrey Hepburn, one of my favorite actresses ever. We endlessly debated on "Audrey Elizabeth" or "Elizabeth Audrey".

Some of the ladies at church threw me a little baby shower. It was intimate, there was only about 10 of us there, but so nice. We met at Wildflower Bread Company - yummy - and hung out for a while. Even when it's a "repeat" child, it was nice to have some new stuff. I got the cutest little Santa dress, hat, and booties for her that made perfect pictures for her birth announcements.

The night before we took Ben and Alex over to Grandma's house. Auntie Heather and a tiny Jenna were going to stay with them when she was born. We had discussed with my doctor my mom's desire to watch the surgery. He cleared it with the anesthesiologist, and allowed me to have 2 people watching. Mom was thrilled, and promised that she wouldn't pass out or get sick. :)

We found out a couple of days before she was born that the 12th was going to be residency match day. Holy cow! The pressure was on! The night before we had to head to the hospital, Aaron and I were beside ourselves. This decision was our lives for the next couple of years! What if he didn't get ortho? What if we were sent to Georgia? Or D.C.? Or Tripler? We couldn't sleep, so we sat up playing Lego Star Wars until like 1 in the morning. I headed to bed first. I was awakened by Aaron coming in, jumping on the bed, saying that he made Ortho and we were moving to El Paso. What a blessing to know, to get what he wanted, to be able to plan! We got dressed and headed to the hospital.

It snowed early that morning. In Phoenix, if you get snow, it melts as soon as it hits the ground. But we did see flurries as we drove to the hospital.

Dr. McKernan had been on call the night before, so as we got comfy, he downed a RockStar. :) (This is particularly humorous to me as I watch my husband bring home super-caffeinated beverages for this very reason.) My mom arrived at the hospital, and everyone gowned up. The OR was cold and I remember shivering as they were getting ready to put in the spinal. They laid me down, got me draped, and called in Aaron and my mom. My sweet husband was an old pro in the operating room, and discussed meds with the anesthesiologist. My mom was fascinated. Dr. McKernan opened me up and before he cut into my uterus, he ran his hand over it and said, "She has a full head of hair." We were expecting a big baby (Ben was 8 lbs 11 oz, and Al was 8 lbs), but out came this skinny little girl - 6 lbs 15 oz! Aaron followed our girl, taking pictures, and mom said, "She has red hair!" and stayed to watch them start to sew me up. Then, before the doc was finished, they shuffled them out to follow the baby to the nursery while they cleaned and stitched.

I ended up in the recovery room for a while. I guess my temp had dropped too much because I was kept in there longer than an hour under warming blankets. Aaron and my mom kept peeking in at me, but were focused on Audrey. They finally told me that she was having some trouble breathing, nothing too serious, but that she wasn't pinking up like she should. They said that sometimes that happens with c-section babies. It wasn't too long before both of us were in the room and settled. I did have a reaction to the morphine and ended up with a super itchy nose. I bruised it a bit from itching so much! A little benadryl worked to clear that up, and kept me doped up for a few days.

It had been a long day already! We had phone calls to make - not only to tell everyone that we had a baby, but that we had gotten the residency we wanted. So exciting! It was a good day, and by that afternoon, we were both out cold in the room - exhausted from all of the excitement.

And thus, Audrey entered our family. :)

The Extra Mile

Tonight, Aaron is on call,and I am tolerating a wicked sinus headache.
Today was Sunday. We didn't get to church until after sacrament meeting because there was just too many of us.
Did I mention that Heather's kiddos are here?
And so I have 5 kids at my house? Under the age of 8.
Her husband won a trip for 2 to Hawaii. Can you really blame them for going? I would!
And I volunteered to watch the kiddos.
Several of my friends have asked why I volunteered to do this at this point of being pregnant.
I am enormous, by the way. 32 weeks today.
My best answer is that I love my sister. And even though she keeps telling me about eating Dole whip, snorkeling, and enjoying the surf - I still love her. I am insanely jealous as I deal with her adorable, yet occasionally whiny 3 year old, and her smily, teething, picky-eater of a son, but I love her.
I think she knows this.
I need to go to bed. I have 5 kids to wrangle in the morning. :)

Our Garden!

"The prophet said to plant a garden, that's just what we'll do!" This spring, our ward's Relief Society taught about square foot gardening. Also, in Cub Scouts, Ben started growing a sweet potato vine in a jar. Aaron and I discussed it, and we decided to plant a garden this year. We were hesitant - after all, it was approaching June in El Paso. We planted zucchini and squash, carrots, a tomato plant, a pepper plant, basil, a geranium that I had acquired from a baby shower, and Ben's sweet potato from scouts. It was fun to see how quickly some of those plants grew! After a while of patient watering and weeding, we had squash and zucchini! Ben's sweet potato started branching out and creeping out of the box. At the end of July, that darn sweet potato plant started taking over so much room from the other plants. My mom had mentioned that her grandmother had a sweet potato vine growing outside of her house. A vine means lattice work! So off we went to Lowe's for lattice. There was so much vine at that point that we had to trim it down. It was incredible to us that we were pulling off pieces that were as tall as Aaron!

Our garden has led us to some neat recipes! We have decided that we like zucchini seasoned and grilled, but zucchini bread is our favorite preparation. Homemade pesto is easy to make, and wildly delicious! We have baggies of it in our freezer.

The squash plant is now falling out of the box, and some of it's leaves are taller than Audrey. But the sweet potato vine was an enigma. Above ground, it was growing like wildfire, and the plant was heavy on the lattice. I have been so curious as to what was happening underground!

Until today. :)

Last night, we had a pretty good windstorm. The lattice fell over and was squishing the other plants. Because it was so heavy with vines, it was really hard to put back up - and Aaron and I decided that we would need to cut it back. In the process of breaking it away from the lattice, I urged, "Just pull it up, Aaron! I want to know what's under it!"

And this is what we found!

Aaron just kept pulling them up! There were 15 little (and not so little) sweet potatoes hiding in that dirt! The kids and I were stunned! How cool is that - that a Cub Scout sweet potato in a jar would have flourished so much!

So guess what's for dinner tonight?

:)