fall

Fall colors

Unfortunately, this fall has not been very colorful, so we've had to create our own brilliance. We got an early snowstorm at the beginning of October and the temperatures stayed under 30 for about a week. Although the trees here are pretty hardy (no pansy palm trees thank you very much), the cold temperatures proved too much to handle and the leaves just fell off the trees before changing colors.

We had a nice Halloween. LaVonne was able to come visit which was really nice. Emma enjoyed spending some quality time with her Nana. Emma decided to be a princess for halloween, much to my chagrin. I've never been much of a girly girl and never quite figured out how to use a curling iron effectively, so I had to come up with a creative way to make Emma's hair look more princess-like. I decided to braid it and leave it overnight. I took it out in the morning to give her sort of a crimped look. I think it turned out pretty cute. She made an adorable princess after all. Isaac just got dressed up in some "my first halloween" garb. He was a cutie pie too! The day was absolutely beautiful with temperatures almost in the 70s so we decided to venture out to Boo at the Zoo which turned out to be a bit of a dud. There were tons of people and not a whole lot of candy passer-outers. Oh well. Emma seemed to enjoy herself and Isaac slept almost the whole time. Ah, to be an infant!

Happy Halloween!

Pretty princess

Walking through the zoo

Queen mama and princess emma

After the zoo we came back home and carved pumpkins. I've never used any of the fancy-schmancy pumpkin carving tools, but LaVonne brought some with her and it was actually pretty fun. Emma loved helping get the seeds out which surprised me mostly because I think the feeling of "pumpkin guts" is one of the most disgusting things ever. Then Emma decided to get dressed back up and go out trick-or-treating. She was so funny YELLING "trick or treat" in the house, but then when we got to the neighbors, she barely whispered the phrase. We only made it to about 5 houses and she was done. Fun times at the Meunier house!

two

Isaac is 2 months old today! I can't believe both how fast the time has gone and that he's only been with us 2 months. I have been back to work full time for nearly 3 weeks now. It's been a bit challenging, but honestly, things around the house are getting done more now then they were before mostly because I work better under pressure. But I haven't had as much time to do "fun" stuff like nap and update the blog. So here's what we've been up to lately:

Emma is nearly potty trained. We went out last weekend and she picked some fun undies including Elmo, tinkerbell, and the Disney princesses. We tried wearing them last weekend, but it didn't go so hot. She doesn't quite get the concept of telling us she needs to go before she goes. Oh well. We'll try again this weekend. She has quite a sense of humor and keeps Nate and I laughing all the time. She recently started calling us "guys" like "hey guys, let's have dinner!" So silly. We really need to start looking at preschool programs as I know some of the private school programs have waiting lists. I can't believe she'll be 3 already this year!

Isaac continues to do well. He's growing like crazy and actually fits into some of his 6 month outfits even though he's 8 weeks old! He is usually very happy and loves to share his smile and tell stories. He also continues to love his baths. We are going to Bozeman to see Sam play football next weekend and are staying in a hotel, so I'm excited to see how he likes the pool. He is spending much more time awake during the day. He usually wakes up just once during the night to eat and goes back to sleep easily. By the time I have to get up for work, he's ready to eat again and usually ready for the day, which is not so fun on the weekends, but his darling smile and coos make it all worth while.

As I mentioned, I'm back to work and have a new position. I now work full-time with the PACE (program of all-inclusive care for the elderly) program. It's still a fairly new program and we're ironing out lots of problems. (Un?)Fortunately, they're looking to me to solve all the problems of our little PACE world which is challenging. But I enjoy it for the most part. Nate is now a certified pharmacy tech after passing his test this summer and is really enjoying his job, too. His work schedule has been much easier to work with lately, which makes mama happy.

Here's the past few weeks in pictures. Enjoy!

siblings

Emma has embraced her role as a big sister. People warned me, but I still can't believe how much older she seemed the minute Isaac was born. She is incredibly nurturing and protective of her brother. She'll often remind me that Isaac's crying if she feels I haven't addressed him soon enough. On one recent car ride, Isaac was quite upset and as we turned the last corner to our house, Emma said, "It's okay, Isaac. We're almost home." The first words out of her mouth in the morning are usually "I wanna touch Isaac." So sweet. I'm sure those were rarely, if ever, the first words out of my mouth regarding Ben.




For his part, Isaac tolerates Emma frequently invading his personal bubble without complaint. I'm not sure why she feels the need to do so, but she often will get literally as close as she can to him. He also seems to enjoy her voice as he will normally listen contentedly to her lengthy imaginative ramblings when she "reads" him stories.


Overall, I am pleasantly surprised and proud at how well Emma is adjusting to her new role. Hopefully her positive attitude remains for awhile.

Emma playing Isaac a song on her piano

cute

Isaac getting his first bottle from Daddy. Awhhhhh!

close

Summer is quickly coming to a close here in Montana. Although the temperatures the past few days have still been in the high 80s, the mornings and evenings have a new chilly crispness that can only indicate fall, and, alas, winter will soon be here. Because we haven't done hardly anything outside this summer, we decided to take advantage of the fact Nathan had this last weekend off and headed up to Red Lodge. Our intention was to find a short trail we could take the kids on as well as see what was going on at the Beartooth Nature Center. The nature center is a refuge for animals in the region who, for whatever reason, can't safely return to the wild. Red Lodge is at the base of the Beartooth Mountains, so I thought we'd be able to find a trail fairly easily, but after having lunch and exploring the nature center, we decided to go to the park instead of trying to find a trail. But, I have talked to a few people since then and have some ideas now of where to go for next summer. I am anticipating we will be out "exploring nature" almost every weekend next summer since I hopefully will have much more energy than this last summer.

Isaac slept through the whole exhibit

Admiring the black bear

Big buffalo

The weekend was also busy because I had two baby showers in honor of Mr. Isaac who is now a month old and weighs 13 pounds. The first one was hosted by my colleagues at work and was quite nice. It's always refreshing to see the people you work with in a social situation without the stress of patient care, although conversation always reverts back to that! The other shower was hosted by my extended family here in Billings and was also quite nice. They decided to host it at our house so everyone could see the nursery (I'll post pictures when it's completed - I still have a few pictures and things to hang up) which gave me a good excuse to clean. My grandma Sharon has a tradition of making new members to the family quilts (mine was the first one!) and Isaac now has his! Everyone was very generous and thanks again for everything!

Isaac's quilt

Emma's quilt

My quilt

Great, great Aunt Nettie and a Halloween-ready Isaac

Great, great grandma Sharon

help

Emma, Isaac and I spent the past couple of weeks recuperating in Great Falls with my family. It was wonderful! I got to frequent my favorite GF haunts including Bob's Big Stack Bagel Bakery (owned by long time family friend Bob McNamee. He catered our wedding and made our wedding cake!), Taco Treat, and Gibson Park. Emma loved the park, too, but we weren't able to stay too long because it was quite warm that day and I forgot the sun screen. Isaac slept the whole time. We also went to the Children's Museum of Montana and were the only ones there! Emma had a great time. Isaac again slept the whole time. My grandmother on my Mom's side - Grandma Jeanne (the reason my middle name is Jeanne) celebrated her 85th birthday. Happy birthday again, Grandma! Glad I could share it with you.

This 30 ft boat was built by a family friend, Dick Martin, and actually does float. He donated it to the Children's Museum.

Crawling through the tunnel

Racing the cars. Her favorite attraction at the Children's Museum

Driving the boat/ice cream shop

Grandma Jeanne on her big day

Admiring the ducks at Gibson Park

She would have spent all day swinging if I would have let her

More swinging

We also got to watch Sam play football a couple of times. Sam is carrying on the strong tradition of Wingerter football men. Ben and Jake were both quaterbacks and Nick was a defensive end. I think my Dad even played in high school. Sam is a sophmore this year and plays for both the sophomore team and JV team. However, the varsity quaterback is not doing too hot so there's talk Sam might have to move up and play varsity, which he's not too excited about. Unfortunately, the Bison football coaching program is not the greatest and the teams seem to reflect that this year. In both JV games I watched, the team didn't even score. Makes for long games.

Sam playing football - he's the guy trying not to be sacked. Interestingly, his cousin is the guy on the other team trying to tackle him. My favorite thing about this picture is #93 who is no doubt thinking "huh, maybe I should have blocked that guy"

We also got to watch Maddie play a basketball scrimmage. She's in 6th grade this year, which is unbelievable to me. Also unbelievable to me is how different from me she is. She has such a better relationship with my parents than I did at her age, mostly because she actually talks to them! She's also a lot taller and thinner than I was. She's pretty darn cute. She is such a big help with the kids, too. What an awesome aunt!

Maddie playing basketball - she's #14

Thanks again Mom and Dad for letting us stay! You're the best.

clean

Last week, the crusty remaining umbilical cord fell off of Isaac's belly button. It took quite a bit longer than I remember with Emma. We celebrated the occasion with his first sink bath. He loved it!

bath time fun

Ahhhh, it's like a day at the spa!

He also has begun smiling although I have yet to capture it on camera. He is also quite strong. He is able to hold is head up nearly all the time and can stand (with help of course!) because his legs are so strong. He sleeps pretty well through the night - a good 5-6 hours for the first stretch. He's our wonder boy!

A half smile

welcome

Isaac Asher Meunier

Mr. Isaac Asher Meunier has finally arrived! He was born August 14th at 7:29 am, weighing 10lbs and 9 oz and 21 inches long. Yes, he is a hefty boy! Thankfully we are both doing well although his birth story is a little dramatic.

We arrived at the hospital at around 4:30 am after my contractions had been about 4-5 minutes apart for about an hour. My water still had not broken, but I wanted to at least be checked since my labor with Emma really wasn't that long. Unfortunately, I was only dilated at 5. I had been at 3 for the past few weeks. Initially the nurse said they were just going to monitor me for an hour in the triage room and if things didn't progress, they were going to send me home. At the next check, I was still at 5, but my blood pressure was starting to increase. I think at that time it was in the 140s. I had had normal blood pressures all through my pregnancy.

Since my blood pressure was elevated, they decided to go ahead and admit me and started some pitocin to hopefully get things going. The doctor came in a few minutes after the pitocin had started and broke my water. After about an hour, the contractions were getting really strong thanks to the pitocin and I still was only dilated to 5. At that time my blood pressure was in the 170s.

Even though I was planning to go "au naturale", the nursing staff strongly suggested I get an epidural to not only help the pain, but hopefully bring my blood pressure down. It didn't take much convincing and I agreed. One last check of vital signs before the anestheologist arrived revealed my blood pressure at 197/100 and Isaac's heart rate suddenly dropped to 90. Because of my blood pressure issues and Isaac's heart rate, the recently on-duty OB doc decided to rush me into the OR for an emergency C-section.

It was quite scary. The room suddenly filled with 10+ staff and they literally ran me to the OR. Because it was deemed an emergency, Nate wasn't able to scrub in for the procedure and so had to anxiously wait in the room until the doctor came in about 15 minutes later to let him know he was now the father of a healthy boy weighing over 10 pounds! They still aren't sure exactly why my blood pressure and his pulse responded in the way they did, but I think it's just because he is so darn big, he just didn't have room to get going (thankfully!)

First meeting

I came to about an hour later. Because it was emergent, I had to have general anesthesia. Although I am so thankful everything went well, it was sad that I wasn't able to hear his cries when he was first born. I was pretty much out of it the first day. I'm a bit of a light weight when it comes to strong painkillers. We spent the next 3 days in the hospital getting to know each other.

Siblings

We now are all doing well. I'm feeling surprisingly well given my abdomen was sliced open. The worst part is that I can't lift up Emma. My parents (who are the greatest people in the world BTW) took Emma home with them for a week or so to allow me to recuperate. It's probably the hormones, but I was very emotional to see her go. She is enthralled with Isaac and really does well with him, although did need frequent reminders to be gentle.

Gramma and Grandpa

Isaac eats all the time! He had his first check-up a few days ago and is basically back to his birth weight. He has lots of hair - I can even style it! The mohawk look is my favorite. He seems to have a pretty low-key personality, but at this point he's only awake about 4 hours out of the day, so it's hard to say. He has an assortment of silly faces and grunting noises. I'm still getting used to his, ahem, anatomical differences. I've been peed on a few times already.

Happy baby

I have a bit of anxiety about returning to work, mostly because I'm not sure how I'm going to handle the schedule in the morning. I feel like I'll have to get up at 4 am to get everyone dressed and ready to go. Two is certainly more challenging than one! Despite the challenges, I couldn't be happier. We have two beautiful, happy, healthy children and I can't wait to see them grow!

expecting

She's a brick house!

Today is my 29th birthday and I am 37 weeks pregnant. Unfortunately, I am spending the night by myself - Nate is at work and Emma is spending the week with my parents. I did get to celebrate the occasion a few nights ago with dinner and a movie with Nate. We saw Hangover and I'm still laughing, so tonight is not a total drag.

Sitting here by myself more than ready to welcome this new person into the world, I am contemplating what it means to be expecting. These have been my expectations during these last few weeks - most have not been met.

1. During the hot summer months, I'll be able to keep my cool.

I have never sweat so much in my life. I have to frequently tell coworkers not to get too close and am constantly apologizing to my patients. I am also not keeping my cool as well with Emma. My patience is about an inch long and I feel really bad. I hope she doesn't remember this ranting, irritable pregnant mom.

If you look closely you can see my new nasty stretch marks

2. People will keep their comments about my growing belly to themselves.
It will always amaze me the things complete strangers will say. It ranges from the mild "any day now, huh?" to "are you sure you're not having twins?" to "please try to keep your legs crossed until you leave the store so you don't go into labor on my watch". Yes, someone actually said this. Like if I happened to go into labor at the store the baby would somehow immediately fall out of me. Man people are dumb. I find the best approach is just to not make eye contact with anyone.

Regardless of my unreached expectations, I still am very excited to meet our little guy. Going through Emma's old things, I have been reminded how wonderful babies are despite the last nights and spit-up. So come on Mr. Isaac, we're ready to say hello!

Since it has been so long since I've posted, here are some pictures from our summer so far.

Cowgirl Emma

Emma wearing daddy's shoes

Emma and the birthday boy.

Emma helping daddy with his presents

The bfcw girls.

The bfcw kids Alex, Aidan, Emma, and Ivy.

Emma discovering "baby Eleanor".

Tromping through the park.

Running with daddy.

Practicing lacrosse so she can take on Uncle Josh.

Almost got it.