Round THREE!

Since our last post, we celebrated Eden's first birthday and officially watched her move from baby to toddler-hood before our eyes. In fact, I'm not even sure when it happened because she is SO stinkin' fast at everything she does.

One day, very soon after her first birthday, we realized that she could not just walk, but run and balance on one foot. She wasn't just babbling and saying "mama" and "dada," but now carrying on 2-word conversations with people using her 20+ word repertoire, and trying to repeat pretty much everything we ask her to. She can even respond with "baa-baa" when asked what the sheep says, and point to the dog on the page (or in real life). Dogs are her favorite. Then again, pretty every animal is a "DAG!!!" right now, so maybe she just likes animals. She has also developed quite the sense of fashion and loves to accessorize with any and everything she can find around the house. This includes hats, bows, stethoscopes, jewelry, blankies, headphones, random wires, and anything else she can somehow affix to her neck, head, or wrists.

Eli is making progress with his speech, and is finally starting to initiate 2-3 word sentences to describe what he wants. He also loves to tell Grandma/Grandpa/Meme/Papa, "I wuv you!" and can often be found wandering through the house (in search of Eden, blankie, Toby, a toy, etc.), while calling, "______, where ARE you??" We started the evaluation process with the Lake Washington School District to see if he will qualify for speech/sensory services through the school starting in the fall when he turns 3. If not, we'll be looking into some form of preschool/Montessori/co-op that he can participate in for the next year or two until he ages into the public school system. Man, where I grew up (in Holland, MA), preschool was a free component of the public school system for ages 3-5! I've never had to think about dealing with all this! We are praying that God opens just the right door for Eli's needs and strengths, in just the right timing! We are also starting to notice that Eli may not just like drums/music, but may actually have some intrinsic rhythm and interest in learning how to play the drums. This is so exciting because it's the first time we've seen Eli become interested in AND show skill in something completely independent of what we've exposed him to. He even likes to set up multiple canisters/bins/plates/etc. around him and drum out a somewhat complex beat along to a song (sometimes he even sings one when there is no other music around). He's also obsessed with watching the band play at church, and I think he's really picking up on things. Maybe we'll have to look into lessons in the next year or two!

Both kiddos are doing so well, and I love how they are growing to love each other, learning to listen to and obey mommy and daddy (*learning*), responding to simple memory Bible verses that we have up on the walls (i.e. Ephesians 4:32 - be KIND), and ultimately learning to treasure the Lord with all their heart. I feel so blessed to be chosen to help cultivate this in their lives, and to see it happening more and more every day.

Aside from that, there are a few other big things happening for our family. We have been leading a Bible study at our home on Thursday nights using Beth Moore's video series on Revelation. I've done the study once before, and am so excited to be leading it with a group of women from CCOJ. It's all about asking God to give us revelation about Himself and His desires for us, and also (of course) about the intense prophecies about the End Times. As the events in the world around us become more and more climactic and heartbreaking, I am so encouraged by God's promises in this final book of Scripture. I also love how it ties together all the rest of history and the Bible from Genesis onward. We've been attending Community Church of Joy with Jake's parents, and find that God has been opening a lot of doors for us there (aside from sharing this Bible study). The children's ministry has gone from non-existent to sometimes so full we have to split classrooms! Jake and I have felt led to also start a ministry putting together/sending care packages to our military service members.  There was such a turnout of donations and support that we had enough leftover goods to almost fill a second round of boxes for each of the 6 service members we are supporting (overseas and domestically)! YAY for such a patriotic, supportive community and church we have!

We have also been participating in a community group through Mars Hill Church, which meets right down the road from our house in order to connect with other people our age. There is a guy in a group who happened to go to high school with Jake (!), another military couple with three young boys, and 2 other young couples (one with a toddler, and one with 2 young children) who are BOTH expecting a baby in the next few months! Including Eli, Eden, and the womb-babies, that makes 10 kiddos in this group!!......

....But wait!

......Why not REALLY make it a party? Let's make that 11!

That's right! We're expecting baby number 3 this November! 11-12-13, to be exact!!

On Eden's first birthday, we decided to give her a very special gift, which Grandma helped her open. It was a nice-quality baby doll (her very first one) with a note inside and a picture of the first ultrasound.











It was a very fun and unexpected way to announce what will probably be our last pregnancy. I can't believe my baby girl is going to be a big sister! We are so excited, and absolutely planned for this (in fact, I'd say we're pretty talented about the whole getting-pregnant-on-our-first-try-every-single-time, thing!). All the kiddos will be 18 months apart, which I'm sure is not for everyone - many, many people have told us we are absolutely insane for doing it so close together. Before my belly started showing, people would "coo" and "aww" at our cute little family in the grocery store. Now they stare at us like we're the Duggars, are purposely trying to overcrowd the earth, or are simply unintelligent and obviously unaware of a thing called birth control. For clarity's sake (and to prove that we're not *completely* insane or imprudent), here are our reasons for the timing and number:

1. I'm already on a "baby" schedule of naps, diapers, and generally being stuck at home, anyway. I'd rather change more diapers per day for a short while and then be done with it, than be changing diapers for years and years and years, especially after tasting freedom with an older, more independent child!

2. This "git 'er dun" mentality is also favorable when I consider that I'd like to eventually go back to school/work once the baby stages are done.

3. The kids are going to be close in age! Hopefully that will encourage (as it has already) similar schedules, similar feeding needs, overlapping naps (at least for a while), an easier time choosing family activities, and ultimately, close friendships between them! That's our prayer!

4. One (compound) word. Empty-nesters. Our last kiddo will be out of the house when we are in our mid to late forties. When we still have energy (and hopefully some money and resources) to ENJOY our later years together!! Having all our kiddos before 30 definitely took some sacrifices on the earlier end of life (let's just say our 20's weren't chock-full of parties and traveling), but we think there will be some longer-term benefits! We also pray that we can enjoy the blessing of our grandkids (who knows? Maybe even great-grandkids) for a good long while!

5. Finally, we prayed a lot about the idea of having three (as opposed to one boy and one girl - so perfect, right? Why mess with that?). But, all our reasons for stopping after two were mostly selfish. I wanted my body back, I wanted to start running again, I wanted to go back to school sooner, people generally accepted us as having the "ideal" family unit (we won't "look" perfect anymore), we won't be able to go on as elaborate or expensive of vacations, we'll have to sacrifice a little more space in our home, my chances of getting puked or pooped on are going up exponentially, etc. etc.  None of these have anything to do with the selfless joy of raising children and the amazing rewards it holds. None of them take into account the family ties and support that our kids will hopefully have long after we're gone. Children are a gift (one of the greatest gifts, actually); not a burden, and I wish our culture was better about recognizing that. Sure, there are limits as to what our family can financially afford and provide for, but those limits are not between 2 and 3 kids unless you're talking about *wants/convenience* instead of *needs.* Children don't need bi-annual trips to the Caribbean and the most expensive stroller available; they need physical, emotional, and spiritual stability, security, and safety. We can most certainly give three children that, and more!

Those are our thoughts, and again, it's not for everyone, but it was a perfect choice for us, and God totally blessed us in it and answered our prayers! We're not THAT insane, I promise! Now we're just waiting to see which gender is going to outnumber the other! Having one of each, we are honestly completely happy either way, so it's really exciting!! In the very beginning of my pregnancy, my temperatures/hormones were dropping into dangerous levels (effects of low progesterone, which I've always had), and this was followed by a very scary moment of learning that the heart rate was borderline-low and we could potentially lose the baby. We spent so much time on our knees just trusting God and praying for His protection, and He was so, so faithful. This is definitely our strong little miracle baby who survived against the odds, and we already love him/her so much! What a blessing to be starting this journey for the 3rd time! :)

16.5 weeks - Hi momma!

9 Months by A Nerdy Parent

I can't believe I'm posting about the fact that Eden will be 9 months old on Thursday. In the last few months we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Uncle Jared, celebrated Hanukkah with a bunch of family and friends,  celebrated Grandma B's birthday, and took a trip to MA for Christmas. The kids absolutely loved seeing their East Coast family, and it was really hard to say goodbye. The time is FLYING by, and suddenly, my little baby girl is getting close to toddler-hood!! I think there must be some exponential equation you can apply to figure out the speed (s) at which your children seem to grow as a factor of n (n = number of children you have), while also taking into account that particular child's tendencies for fast development (d)...which is also often impacted by their birth order (denoted by n).

s = x^n + n[sum(d)]

If someone could just figure out the value of x, we'd have it all figured out. I'll have to ask God about that some day. In other words, Eli grew fast....but Eden is growing lightning fast! 

She is now crawling all over the house, pulling to stand, beginning to cruise along furniture, and can even let herself back down to the floor in a controlled manner. She also recently learned how to climb stairs and I often find her standing in her crib at the end of a nap, squawking to be rescued. Speaking of "squawking," this little girl has no problem communicating her needs. It only took about 10 minutes to get her to consistently sign "more" with cheerios as the motivation. She happily sings "da-da-da-da-da" all day, until she is tired or hungry or stinky or just generally furious at life. Then, she quickly changes tune to a very despairing "na-na-na-na-na," which we've pretty much been able to translate into: "MA, get with the program, lady. I am clearly very upset and expect you to fix this situation, CHOP-CHOP!" Yes, I have another child who's favorite person in the world (aside from her brother) is her daddy. Mommy is just for fixing problems and comfort during distress. Especially since she stopped breastfeeding between 7 and 8 months (sad, but her uber-independent desire to feed herself helped us completely expect this), so mommy isn't even the primary source of food anymore. One of her favorite things to do right now is stand behind daddy and repeatedly pat his head right on his bald spot. Although I should say, as much as she adoringly smiles at him (which is pretty much every second he's around), this little social butterfly tends to dish smiles out with wanton disregard, much like her brother. It doesn't take much for a passer-by to fall completely in love with her. She's definitely as sweet and joyful as she is strong-willed and emotional, and for that I am so thankful. 

Eden now has 2 teeth (bottom front), but with the way she craves big-people food (she won't even touch baby food anymore...which is unfortunate considering my freezer is packed to the brim with it), you'd guess she had more. Like many babies (with the exception of Eli) she is obsessed with having things in her mouth. So much so, that it's become a mindless habit like how adults chew gum or bite their lips. About 85% of her play time involves active use of both her hands (and often feet), a very analytical facial expression, and a toy sticking half-way out of her mouth. Case in point:

Some other more recent mad skillz: 

-Waving hello/bye-bye

-*Continuing* to sleep through the night since 10 weeks old. We've had a handful of sleep interruptions because she was sick or teething, but she's been able to stick with her 10-12 hour/night norm! YAY!
-Giving "kisses" (clicking her tongue between her lips and face-planting on your mouth)

-Switching toys between hands and using her pointer finger on book pages and toys with buttons

-Holding a spoon almost perfectly, and getting it into her mouth. I think I actually caught her making lip-smacking noises while pretending to feed herself...I must have been imagining it.

-Emergence of object permanence

-A banshee wail so sudden and intense that we can get an entire restaurant (or airplane) to turn heads and seriously wonder if we are physically torturing our child. And an equally sudden composure when the desired toy or food item has been successfully obtained

-Putting her pacifier in and out of her mouth

-Shiny bling to include jewelry, mirrors, embellished hair clips, and all other girly accessories

-Eating paper

Some of her favorite things:

-Seeing Meme, Papa, JJ, and Auntie Kate on Skype (whilst banging the keyboard in such a way that she *always* does THIS ...never fail)

-Eating regular food, then throwing it up if it has a weird or slimy texture. And then trying again immediately.

-Toby the dog

-Her hand-knit blankie from Auntie Kate

-Tummy tickles

-Playing with, taking tubby baths with, or generally being in the near vicinity of Eli

-Eating paper

Some of her least favorite things:

-Taking medicine

-Sippy cups or other things that involve novel nipple/spouts - we need to work on this!

-Sitting still

-Being denied mommy's cell phone

In other news, Eli (who turned 2 on October 30th) has been really enjoying "preschool" at Kindering in Bellevue. He attends a class called "Stepping Stones," which helps prep kids between 2 and 3 for preschool. It's an integrated classroom with 50% of the kids receiving some sort of developmental services. Eli gets speech therapy and some help with his foot pronation while in class. It's an AMAZING program, and has received a ton of awards for being one of the best preschool/early learning opportunities in the state. Even children who don't receive services get way more hands-on interaction from professionals who really know how to boost developmental skills. Normally it's pretty expensive, but because Eli qualified for therapy (though he's doing so well now that I'm not sure he'd still qualify), it's free for us! Eden and I get to go twice a week to watch him on the other side of a one-way-mirror (or we can drop him off and go get errands done). It's been a wonderful experience, and Eli absolutely loves going to school! His favorite time of the day is snack time! What a surprise.

Eli is also becoming such a sweet, patient big brother, and quite the little entertainer. He enjoys singing (ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, Row Your Boat, Jesus Loves Me, Open Shut Them, Patty-Cake, Old MacDonald, and the list goes on!), playing drums, xylophone, recorder (which also serves as a drum stick and a microphone), tambourine, and shakers, AND he LOVES to dance! Mr. Potato Head is one of his new favorite toys, and he still adores trucks and books. I often find him contently reading books on the floor of his room after he is done his nap, and he also likes reading to his baby sister and to Meme on Skype. Lately, he's been very interested in using the potty (or at least sitting on it) and dressing himself. That includes picking out clothes from his dresser all by himself and buttoning/zippering them up (with some help). Here is the latest result:

(PJ pants and shirt, button-up collared sweater, zip-up monkey sweatshirt jacket, and sun visor. 

He was quite proud.)

I have to say that one of my favorite parts of the last 9 months is how Eli and Eden interact and love on each other. It's such an answered prayer for us to see the natural compassion they have for one another, and the kind of joy and wordless understanding that only their sibling can provide. We thank God for blessing us with such beautiful, healthy, and uniquely-gifted children, and continue to pray that they will treasure Christ above all else, and be the best of friends as they grow up together. While having 2 has its own set of challenges, the blessings have really given us perspective on what's important in life, and how much of a gift having children (plural) truly is. So much so that we are praying about what might be next and the possibility of more if that's something God wants to give us. For now, we are just trying our best to appreciate every single second with these kiddos, because x^2 + 2[sum(d)] is entirely too fast!!

Eden's Story

There is so much to talk about with Eden's story. Sarah has covered much of the prelude with her last blog, but so much has also happened in the past month! To say that God provides would be an understatement. We found a new home, a new hospital, a new doctor for Sarah, and a new pediatrician...all within the first week of starting my new job. And then, with the help of our wonderful family and friends, we were able to move into that home just nine days before Eden was born (talk about timely provision!). I could go on about the three weeks between starting my new job and Eden's birth, but I think that would take a whole blog post all on its own. And this blog is about how Eden arrived.

At about 1:30am on Tuesday, April 24th, Sarah woke me up to let me know that she thought she *might* be in labor. After the weeks months on pins and needles waiting for Eli to arrive, I told myself I wasn't going to get excited for every single false labor pattern this time around. Unfortunately for me, Eden had other plans, and mama knew best (thank goodness). I must admit that I was a tad bit cranky as I started to get everything prepared and loaded into the car, after all we were still more than a week away and had just finished moving. Still Sarah insisted that we should at least be ready to go in case this was it. After a crazy hour of getting the car loaded up and timing irregular and non-painful contractions, Sarah informed me that she didn't want to rush out (just in case this wasn't really it), and suggested that we go back to sleep for a bit to see if anything changes.

About two hours later, Sarah woke me again to inform me that she was pretty sure this was it. I, however, still wasn't convinced, and was particularly dreading how the rest of that day would be at work. You see, although Sarah could tell based on the feel, I questioned the lack of consistency and intensity; she actually seemed more calm and at-ease than normal. We spent the next half hour deciding what we should do...going to the hospital meant waking up Eli and my parents, and of course ensured that I would have no additional sleep before work that day (a price I wasn't easily convinced to pay). On the other hand, after Eli's speedy delivery, we wanted to make sure that we arrived at the hospital with plenty of time. In the end, Sarah's instinct beat out my hesitation, so off we went.

When we arrived at my parents' house at 5:00am, they were wide awake and eager to rush us off to the hospital, however I think they were also a little bit shocked to see Sarah leisurely walk in and go on explain the necessities for the care and feeding of Eli (almost as if we were just dropping him off while we went on a date). I think that it was safe to say that my parents shared my doubts of it being the real thing at this point, and were probably also wondering if they were up early unnecessarily for a false alarm. Once Eli was settled, we were off again.

At around 5:40am we arrived at Swedish Medical Center in Issaquah. This time around we had called ahead, and had stressed to the staff that Sarah has a history of precipitous labor, so they were expecting us at the Emergency Room. The ER staff was also a bit surprised to have a lovely little chat with a very calm mom to be. I got the impression that they thought she was just another overexcited mom with a long labor in store, but despite their doubts we were brought to the triage room much, much faster than we had been with Eli (when Sarah was actually nearing the end of transition in the ER waiting room).

After arriving at triage (close to 6am), the L&D nurse was sure to call our midwife and let her know that Sarah had been admitted before starting the routine monitoring on Sarah. Once again, she was very interested to hear about Sarah's quick delivery with Eli, but probably expected something a little less exciting this time from the calm mom-to-be sitting in front of her. I think she was pretty surprised to discover that Sarah was already 5-6cm dilated. I, on the other hand was honestly quite relieved. First, this confirmed that Sarah was actually in labor, second that we had arrived with plenty of time for Sarah to labor at the hospital, and third that I wouldn't be taking Sarah home and then leaving straight for work. I gritted my teeth and set myself to the task of proving that I could support Sarah through a long and arduous labor process (and thought maybe I should get the doula on the phone). Sarah was giddy with excitement that she was finally going to have an opportunity to use all the labor techniques she had learned, including having a relaxing soak in the giant tubs they have at Swedish. However, Sarah and I hardly had a chance to finish our thoughts after the cervical exam when suddenly Sarah informed the nurse that her water had broken, and things started to get REALLY exciting.

Initially things were a little bit scary. Immediately after Sarah's water broke, Eden's heart rate began to decelerate, and Sarah's contractions became much more intense. In the next few minutes, Sarah showed incredible strength and dedication. At this point she was clearly going through transition, but despite the discomfort and anxiety, she was working with the nurse to adjust her body position to provide as much relief to Eden as possible. Still, Sarah continued to reassure me that she was feeling fine herself, and her only concerns were for little Eden. After a few tense minutes, Eden stabilized, and Sarah was left to continue labor in a very uncomfortable position while the nurse went to do everything in her power to get the midwife there as soon as humanly possible.

As we moved to the delivery room, Sarah was once again calm and comfortable. At about 6:15am, only 15 minutes after Sarah's first cervical check, the nurse decided to check her progress again. Her checks were followed by a strange smile at Sarah and an expression that said, "You can't be serious." "What...?" Sarah asked, "Am I ten?" The disbelief on the nurse's face answered that question (affirmatively).  Now the nurse had a new preoccupation: asking Sarah if she had the urge to push and frantically try to find the midwife. Luckily for the nurse, Sarah was extremely calm - to the extent that you couldn't tell she was in labor at all. In fact, she was so calm and happy that she decided to call her mother and inform her that she was currently 10cm dilated and ready to have a baby. After a brief conversation with a very excited, flabbergasted, and confused grandmother-to-be, Sarah got back to the business of having a baby. On the next contraction, Sarah informed the nurse that she was feeling the urge to push, and in response the nurse encouraged her to try to breath and not push (mainly because she was not thrilled at the prospect of delivering the baby herself). The bad news for the nurse was that Eden was now running the show, and Sarah didn't have much of a say in whether or not she would be pushing (any moms who have been in this situation are probably having a good chuckle right now). But the good news was that Sarah's midwife arrived shortly thereafter. I should mention that between pushes, much to the surprise and awe of the nurses in the room, Sarah was having a wonderful conversation with them and laughing about the whole experience. Among these conversations was the fact that she even wore a cute bathing suit top for laboring in the tub (so much for that!), and asking the midwife if she would allow me to catch Eden. After only a couple pushes, the midwife informed me that it was now or never. On the next push I had a beautiful screaming baby in my hands. Much to the disbelief of everyone in the room (myself and Sarah included), Eden Elizabeth Bollinger was born 7lbs 7oz and 20.5in long at 6:33am on Tuesday, April 24th  (If you want to get the magnitude of this whole thing, go back and note the times) I think the nurses will be talking about this one for years to come.

God had once again provided in an unbelievable way. Despite our doubts and hesitations, we had arrived in the hospital just in time. And even though most of the staff most likely initially doubted the urgency of Sarah's labor, they took us seriously and saw us as quickly as possible. Even the midwife arrived just in time for little Eden's arrival. And we have been given this amazing gift of a beautiful, healthy daughter, who we were able to take home to a comfortable and functional house - all in perfect timing. Jehovah Jireh, God our PROVIDER! What a blessing this whole experience has been.

Beautiful baby girl

A few minutes old and eating well!

My beautiful wife and daughter

Bring On The Girliness!

Since my last post about the pregnancy, a lot has happened! We made it to age of viability (23ish weeks), which means that if anything serious were to happen at this point, this little girl could survive outside the womb. Both times now, this has been a HUGE relief for me (that I'm sure not too many people think about) and something that I am sooo thankful for. I am now about 25 weeks along, but here was the tummy at 24 weeks:



It is definitely going a LOT faster this time around! Sometimes I even forget that I'm pregnant (because I have so many other things to pay attention to) ...until I get a giant jab in the ribs. As an update to some of the health concerns I previously talked about, God has totally answered every single prayer of ours so faithfully! After having some pain on the left side (which was causing some pretty consistent, painful contractions), I decided to go into the hospital at around 21.5 weeks. They did an ultrasound, some blood work and a bunch of fetal monitoring, and determined that:

1. I am completely free of infection
2. The baby is VERY healthy, with a great heart rate and measuring in at about 1-2 weeks ahead of schedule!
3. The contractions are not causing any cervical dilation (which is good)
4. My placenta is moving UP to where it's supposed to be, and is not even "low-lying" anymore!

Almost instantaneously after the ultrasound, I stopped having the pains and the contractions stopped almost completely. Now I get an occasional painless braxton hick contraction during the day (which is completely normal), but everything is back to normal! AND my midwife agreed to take me off of pelvic rest! Which means I can work out again, do yoga, stress less about lifting Eli around, and...regain intimacy with my husband (ehem!). YAY!! To top it all off, for the first time in my pregnancy, I am basically free of symptoms and have a TON of energy (I LOVE LOVE LOVE the second trimester!), so I actually WANT to work out and -of course- NEST!

Before I go into the sum of my extreme nesting instincts combined with my neurotic creative excitement about having a girl, we want to officially share some very special news! We have chosen a name, and are officially making it public! Her name will be...

Eden Elizabeth Bollinger! <3 <3 <3

"Eden" is actually Hebrew for "delight" and "paradise," and to be very honest, God made this name very VERY clear to us before we even got pregnant with Eli! Basically it comes from the concept that Eden was God's original design for His creation (which was absolutely beautiful and holy), but also, it's the imagery that represents true RESTORATION of all of creation! It's not only the beginning; but the end goal, if you will. A beautiful, holy, perfect, and complete reconciliation with God that I eagerly look forward to some day! Here is a verse which really relates to that idea of a garden (and comes from one of my favorite passages in the Bible):

The LORD will guide you always;
He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail. -Isaiah 58:11

Elizabeth is my middle name (as well as my mom's), and it means "My God is a vow." Jake and I especially love the idea of informally shortening it to "Beth" and being able to call her Eden Beth (like some people call me Sarah Beth). And, because so many people ask, we did NOT purposely try to stick to the "E" theme (in fact, Eli's full name is Robert Eli Bollinger); we just happen to like E names, I guess!

SO, along with the idea of the garden, I'm already going NUTS planning her nursery! I've compiled a bunch of color/theme pictures and made a collage to start brainstorming. I'm not a huge fan of pink, but I definitely wanted it to be delicate and kind of unique. So, I decided to go with a pale baby blue/teal as the main color, and add in accents of pale pink, cherry red, and even black for a modern contrast. I love a subtle mod garden/cherry blossom theme. I am totally having WAY too much fun with this, but I guess that's what happens when you have to ignore all the girly stuff for so long, and then get to finally indulge. Let me know what you think!! :)