Tia Sarah Christmas presents

Thanks Tia Sarah for the adorable clothes. Harper loves them!

Growing too fast...

But at least she still asked Santa for an Elsa dress and was happy to receive it.

My empanada making assistant

Harper and Gabriella were great assistants in our empanadas making day yesterday. We made up a bunch to take to our friends for Christmas eve dinner and to have leftovers for our drive to Asheville today. I, of course, forgot to bring along the leftover empanadas. :(

Final ride home before Christmas break

Hard to believe Christmas is just two days away. Gabriella is riding home through puddles with just a long sleeve tshirt on and its raining. Hard to get the winter feeling right now.

Some of our fall adventures...

For my birthday, we went and hiked at Treman State Park in Ithaca.  It's one of our favorite places here in the Finger Lakes.  It was a beautiful day and we ended up eating at the Moosewood Cafe.  As always it was delicious, tasty food.  I sure love my little family and enjoyed spending the whole day with them!

On the way home from school yesterday, Gabriella asked me if I was over 100.  (She's learning about numbers and can now count to 100.)  I told her not quite yet.

The next weekend, Mat woke up and said he wanted to do some international travel.  So we headed to Niagara Falls - the Canadian side.  It was Gabriella, Harper and my first time there.  It was beautiful and amazing to see all the water from Lake Erie fall off the side of a cliff!

Harper Roan Levine

Due September 9, 2015, Harper Roan decided to come August 28th.  That morning I awoke to feeling that I kind of had wet the bed. So I didn't really think anything about it because she had sat on my bladder the whole pregnancy and I'd had to go to the bathroom several times a night.  So I just thought, great this is what the next couple weeks are going to be like.  I mentioned it to Mat when he went back to bed and he asked if I was in labor and should we go to the hospital.  I said no, I wasn't having any contractions so it wasn't labor.  I had an appointment that morning anyway with my midwife so I went up to that with everyone and they said "oh yes, that is the amniotic fluid leaking.  You are in labor.  We need to monitor you and check on the baby.  We can admit you to the hospital or you can do it here in the office."  Since I'd spent so much time in the hospital for Gabriella's birth AFTER the contractions had started, I didn't want to go before I'd even felt any.  So they monitored me and the baby was good.

So we went back home around 11 and by the time I was back in Naples, I was having contractions.  Our friends came and picked up Brie early for her playdate to the beach.  Mat and I walked around the block, I did a lot of yoga breathing and walking around the house in circles.  The contractions were so painful that I decided I should have a shower.  We should have gone to the hospital then.  The shower was nice but the pain was so bad that I couldn't stand anymore.  I kept putting off going to the hospital because I just didn't want to be there for a long time.  But finally Mat told me the contractions were coming really close together and that we'd better leave now.  It was a long drive back to Canandaigua.  Didn't help that we got stuck behind a truck going really slow in a long no passing zone.

As Mat pulled into the hospital parking lot he asked if I could walk from a parking spot and I said no.  So he pulled up in the ER drive up and we checked in.  We hadn't been able to get a hold of our doctor's office so they weren't expecting us.  They ER folks asked if I wanted a wheelchair.  Mat said "no, Amie can walk" and I said "um, no, I'd really like the wheelchair."  By the time we arrived in the labor and delivery unit to my room I pretty much undressed and put the gown on immediately because it seemed the right thing to do.  As the labor nurse was getting some info from me, I was asking for an epidural but she said there wasn't time for it.  Mat asked if he should go move the van and he was told that he'd better stick around or he'd miss the birth. The midwife on call, Jenn Orcott, showed up and Harper Roan was born about 15 minutes after that at 3:32 weighing 6 pounds 11 ounces. 

Gabriella spent the night at her friend, Payton's and they all came the next day to meet Harper. She loved her at first sight and still does. 

We were able to check out that evening to take everyone home to spend our first night together as a family. 

Happy Hannukah 2015

Gabriella enjoys her part in lighting the candles on the third evening of Hanukkah.  She looks forward to Mat coming home so they can do this together. While waiting for Mat, Gabriella selects the candles to put in the menorah. 

Gratitude

Thanksgiving has come and now we are entrenched in the holiday time that comes at the end of the year.  It's been a long time since I've used this blog but as I'm watching Harper grow I've started comparing her to Gabriella and I've been scrolling back through the blogs about Brie. I'm thankful that I have that as I haven't written anything down.  My bad.  Now I need to start filling in the blanks about Harper here and find a way to get this all printed out in a journal format so that I will have this when I'm old and decrepit to look back on.

Gabriella and Harper hanging out in the yard in the middle of October.  Gabriella now prefers to be called by her full name now instead of Brie or Gabby.  Trying to remember to do that!  She loves Harper to pieces.  Harper is going to be a tough kid as she gets lots of aggressive but well meaning love from Gabriella.  In the next few weeks, I'm going to try and post about Harper coming into our lives and her growth just to catch up so I'll have it all in this one spot to go to.  :-)