Hospital Pictures

A little Madi girl who is finally warming up to her little sister

Grandpa Charlie

Auntie Allyson

Grandma Terri

Grandpa Gunter, Madi, Daddy, and Grandma Robin

Auntie Kristin and a Terrified Chris

A Proud Grandma and Grandpa Gunter

Little Braelyn

And Then There Were Two...

Our exhausting, yet exciting, adventure began on Monday, February 23. We checked in to the hospital at 5:30am. It was kind of nice because we knew what to expect with a c-section. The whole i.v. thing went much better this time around-- no blood shooting into the air. Doug had specific orders to stay far away when it was inserted. We answered a million questions and waited patiently for the doctor to show up. When the anesthesiologist showed up, I was a little taken aback. She was a she and young. (I had very old men with my previous three surgeries, so I guess I had that sexist stereotype in my mind.) She was absolutely fabulous. I know that it was because her name was Angie too. She got the spinal in the first time. I had jokingly told her that she needed to beat the record of five attempts with Madi.

The surgery quickly began. There was a third Angie, a nurse, in the room during the surgery too. I had no idea how popular my name is. It is absolutely amazing how doctors just go on chatting just like everything is normal while they are slicing someone open. Braelyn Baili Gunter was born at 8:23am. She was 8 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long. She rarely made a peep when they pulled her out. They held her up and then gave her to us to hold. Soon after that, they took her away to be weighed and cleaned off. It was funny because I could see my guts in the reflection of the ceiling when they were stitching me up. Oh, so sentimental, I know.

It was about 10:00am, and Doug and I were in the recovery room. Little Braelyn still didn't have a name. Since I decided on Madi, I told him to make the final decision. At about 11:30am, we went to our room.

The Musical Fruit

Today we went shopping for some final things for the baby. Nothing too exciting-- diapers and burp cloths. We believe babies don't need all of the frilly stuff; plus a lot of the stuff stores make money off of are choking hazards for infants. Madi's little sister also bought Madi some presents to give to her at the hospital. These things include a bottle, a baby Elmo, a little baby, play baby food, and a Sesame Street coloring book. Madi is going to get something each day we are at the hospital. Hopefully, this will help her transition well. Afterwards, we went to Round Table Pizza. Madi refused to eat anything but kidney beans. She ate about a 1/3 of a cup. She is going to have the worst gas on the block.

Yesterday while Doug was at Elder's Quorum, Madi and I looked at pictures of her. We looked at all of the pictures and videos of her in my cell phone. Then I got out her photo album/scrapbook, and she loved looking at the pictures. We looked at pictures and videos for forty minutes. Every time she said, "Baby." I don't think that she understood that the pictures, even the recent pictures, were of her.

This week is going to be a hectic one for us. Doug is trying to get all of his homework for his class done before the baby comes. He also is getting all of his sub plans ready for next week. I am getting ready for the sub to take over for my classes, and in a week or two, I am going to start taking another class too. Next Monday, February 23, it is going to be party time! (Well, more like, sleep deprivation, frustration, and wanting to crawl into a hole time. Like our doctor said with Madi as a newborn, "It's a good thing babies are so cute. Otherwise, you'd want to thrown them out of a window.") We can't believe we are starting this whole process again.

Random Happenings

• Doug has taught Madi how to say Ernie. No, Ernie is not loved as much as Elmo and Abby or even Cookie Monster, but he is moving up in the ranks.
• Last weekend, we were heart-attacked, and we didn't even realize it. Then today when we opened up our curtains, we saw hearts all over. Doug is convinced that it is my students. He even has a select few in mind as the guilty parties. My students know that I hate Valentines Day, and they seem to torture me with that knowledge. For example, one of my student aides had drawn hearts in purple, red, and pink on my desk calendar for February 14th. First of all, he knows that people writing on my calendar irritates me, and he also knows that I dislike this over-commercialized holiday.
• Doug came home from work with a bag full of gifts. His students showered him with little notes, candy, and trinkets on his birthday; and now, once again, on Valentines Day. He did get this cute bear that makes a kissing noise whenever you touch its hand. Madi will love it.

TMI

My students are beginning to realize that they have never seen me not pregnant. My pregnancy and child birthing process has been a topic of many discussions. One kid said, "You're going to come back all skinny." I said, "Um, not really. The weight just doesn't melt off. It'll take me a while."

Sometimes students crack me up. Today, I was walking down the hall to the bathroom. I was relieved because it was finally my prep, and I could use the bathroom. Unlike many other careers, but teachers have to work on a schedule. We can't just get up and go. On the way there, I ran into one of my students. Here's how the conversation went:
"Hey, Mrs. Gunter."
"Hi, Ramon. How are you?"
"Good. Where are you going?"
"To the bathroom."
"Oh, it is because of the baby?"
"Uh, yeah." (In my mind, I was thinking, I really just have to pee. I haven't gone to the bathroom since 6:30am, and it is now 12:10.)

Ah, I'm going to miss my 200 kids. They crack me up.

These are a Few of Madi's Favorite Things:

1. She loves reading her books. We frequently find her in the corner with a pile of books.
2. She loves her chair. If we put our feet on her chair, she will push them off. She's quite possessive.
3. She loves unloading the dishwasher. She always hands us the silverware and bottom rack of the dishwasher. Today, she helped me without being asked.
4. She loves cleaning. She helps Doug sweep the floor, and she'll wipe the table and floor too. We are so glad that she already has a good work ethic.
5. She loves taking care of her dirty clothes. It is funny to watch the pride she has in doing this.
6. She loves her baby. We made a little bed for her baby out of an old diaper box. She puts blankets in it for padding. She also always makes sure that her baby is fed and burped.
7. She loves dancing and music. For Christmas, she got a piano and a recorder. She beebops around the house listening to her piano. It is fun to also hear her random toots on her recorder and see how proud she is.
8. She loves the outdoors. She loves the crunching of leaves and seeing the birds fly by. We look forward to this summer when the girls start swimming lessons and get to play in the sunshine.
9. She loves Matilda. Everyday when she comes home, she runs to the kitty and gives her kisses. At times, we feel bad for sicking Madi on Matilda, but kitty is a good sport.
10. Obviously, Madi loves Elmo and Abby.

Madi and BBG

Mom and dad learned something new today. Madi is growing up. For the past two days, she has cried whenever we have put her in her highchair. This is highly unusual for her because she loves her lunch and dinner. Finally, we came to the conclusion that she wanted to be a big girl and eat at the table. Cleona has a little table where all of the kids eat; we then assumed that she must not use the highchair anymore. So we put her in her little booster seat, and she was happy as a clam. We packed up the highchair, and she waved goodbye. Actually, we are relieved to have the highchair out of the kitchen for five or six months; it is, however, sad to see our little Moomers growing so fast.

We finally went shopping for BBG today. I bought some hats and more burp cloths. Sadly, they did not have any cute outfits for the going home outfit. (She needs at least one outfit that is not a hand-me-down.) BBG is also getting her very own Burrito Baby. Those things are life saviors.

Speaking of kids, I wonder Madi or BBG will have any long term, emotional scars from their nicknames while in the womb. Madi was Fester the Fetus, and BBG was Ziggy the Zygote. Ah, it is amazing what we do to entertain ourselves.

The Teaching World

Terrible Tests
Well, Doug has been trying to pass the ORELA for some time now. He is taking it tomorrow for the third time. This is not only extremely frustrating, because he only has another year to pass the pass or he can't teach middle school anymore, but also because it is extremely expensive. As of now, he is trying to pass the test, taking a class, and practically running the house while I am virtually worthless. To top it all off, he came down with the nasty cold yesterday that everyone has at school. Hopefully, he will feel well enough to ace that dang math and science portion!

Labor, Almost
So today during fourth period, I was minding my own business reading aloud to my Read 180 class. We were all really into the book, and I began to turn the page. One of the students I had last semester stood in the doorway and clapped his hands really loud. It completely freaked me out. I jumped out of my chair and screamed. Although it was somewhat embarrassing, it was hilarious. I, however, was not the only one to have this same reaction. My face turned so red. The entire class burst out laughing; one girl began laughing like a hyena. Our attention then turned to her, and we started laughing at her. So my former student who started this whole commotion came back in and said, "I just wanted to say hello." The sub for my instructional assistant said, "You could have sent her into labor!" (I, personally, am happy that I didn't wet myself.)

Ah, it is so difficult being loved by a multitude of students. Ha! :)

The Big, The Bad, and The Bully

The Big
At this point in my pregnancy, I want to scream. I am getting so big that it hurts to walk. Hips separating + little feet in my ribs = not a good combination. I can't wait to get this kid out! I am down to practically no clothes that fit. I started out with two pairs of maternity pants-- a pair of jeans and a pair of khakis. I am down to a pair of khakis. Good thing I only have 13 days left of work. (But who's counting?) I told all of my students that I'll be rockin' the same clothes over and over for a while. I refuse to spend money on a whole new wardrobe for just a few months. I am contemplating renting a wheelchair, possibly a motorized one so I can zip around the halls of McNary. Wouldn't that be a hoot? Ha!

The Bad
Madi loves to play outside. No matter the temperature, she can stay out there for hours. The other day, she was playing with a pile of rocks. (Near the same spot where the dirt eating incident occurred.) I was sitting on a step watching her. An ant crawled near the step where I was sitting, and Madi saw it. She followed it with her finger. Low and behold-- she smashed it with her index finger. This girl never ceases to amaze us. We now have a dirt eating, bug killer in our midst.

The Bully
Today when I picked Madi up from Cleona's, I was informed of an incident that happened yesterday. There is a little boy named Cole who goes to Cleona's a couple of times a week. He is a few months younger than Madi. Well, he was walking along minding his own business, and Madi pushed him in the back. Our daughter is a bully! How sad. We'll have to work on that with her.

The "Melmo" Fetish

Well, we know that Madi is obsessed with Elmo and Abby Cadabby (or as Madi calls her "Abby Dabby") from Sesame Street. She even has a slight fascination with Cookie Monster. She loves the voices that we do for her. About two weeks ago, another kid at Cleona's, Madi's babysitter, had an Elmo blanket. She went crazy. In fact, the kid's mom doesn't bring the blanket anymore. We then decided that we needed to make Madi an Elmo blanket. This last weekend, we finally had the chance. We went to the fabric store. We only saw one Sesame Street print; it happened to have Elmo on it. She lunged out of Doug's arms and started hugging the bolt of fabric shouting, "Melmo! Melmo!" She carried the bolt of fabric around the store. I continued to look for more Elmo fabric for Elmo beanbags. Then the moment came. I saw another Seasame Street bolt of fabric with multiple characters. Madi dropped the fabric and started kissing the fabric I was looking at. The choice was clear. So she carried her new found love-- Elmo fabric-- out to the car. Now, making the blanket took a lot longer than I anticipated, but I finished. It was worth it. She loves her "melmo" blanket.