Gymnastics

Finnegan has boundless energy, so finding activities that wear him out is often a challenge.  We were very excited to find power-play at the gymnastics center. We started going every Wednesday after we drop Kenzie off at preschool.  Finn spends the entire time running from station to station and usually falls asleep on the way home. Today we took Mum Mum with us to experience the fun.

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One Week Old

one week old

Finn checking out baby sister's toes

first bottle

Today Emersyn turned one week old. She celebrated in her usual way...sleeping. We celebrated by trying her out on the bottle. She gladly accepted. So far she is the most relaxed of the Malcolm children. She sleeps through dinner time, (which is a wonderful treat for Mommy), she rarely cries, is happy to recline in her chair or swing, and hardly seems to notice all the chaos going on around her. On a funny note she gets the most explosive pooper  award of all the Malcolm children. I've seen some messes with my kids, but never one with such range as Emersyn!
 I was told by another mother of three that the third baby is your reward.  So far Emersyn has been nothing but wonderful.

Girls Day Out

helping Daddy wash the car

Today Mum Mum and I took the girls out shopping. We started the morning off with dance class and Target and then headed to Santa Rosa for the Disney Store. Mackenzie was very excited to pick out some accessories for her Halloween costume.  After a little shopping we headed to lunch. Emersyn the power shopper was exhausted and needed to nap. We came home so that she could continue her snooze while the big kids helped Daddy wash the jeep.

Sleeping, Sleeping

Sleeping in her chair

Sponge Bath

Check out my hair

Today Emersyn did what she does best...slept. She slept in her chair, her bed and on top of most of the humans in the house. She even slept through dinner, a first for the Malcolm children. I am used to spending my dinners feeding a newborn while eating with one hand. We were able to wake her up long enough to give her a sponge bath and wash her hair.

First Day at Home

Today was our first full day at home. Emersyn and I took the opportunity to catch up on sleep in the morning, while Daddy took the big kids out. In the afternoon Jim and I took Emersyn to meet the pediatrician. She displayed her calm personality and slept through the whole visit. We were happy to hear that she weighed 8lbs 9oz, only down a little from birth and is doing great. After the doctors office we headed to Target to buy some baby supplies. Emersyn was content to sleep in her car seat and travel the isles. She's a born shopper, a girl after my own heart.

Angus enjoying the car seat

Mum Mum with the grandkids

Home from the Hospital

We had a very peaceful stay at the hospital and I was really enjoying the one on one time with the baby.  Not to mention the attention from the nurses and the meals delivered to me on schedule. The staff kept joking with me that they could tell I was a mother of 3, because I was so relaxed and in no rush to leave.                                                                                                                                                       Jim came in the afternoon to get us and brought big sister Mackenzie. She is already a little helper and was so excited to be a part of this experience. She helped us to put Emersyn in her car seat and rode in the back with her. She gave us updates on the baby the whole way home.

All dressed up and ready to go

Mackenzie & Emersyn

first time in the car seat

A little time with Mommy & Daddy

Being the third child, Emersyn will have to share a lot of our time with her siblings so it was nice for Jim and I to have some alone time with her today. She spent most of the day asleep, but we did wake her up for a little photo shoot.

Daddy & Emersyn

Mommy & Emersyn

Tiny Baby Feet

All tired out from her photo shoot

Meeting the siblings

Finnegan, Mackenzie & Emersyn

Sisters

Family of Five

Today Mackenzie and Finnegan came to meet their new baby sister. We decided to start the visit off with presents for the kids. Mackenzie got a swimming Ariel barbie that has a light of tale and Finn got a boy baby that can be taken in the bath. After the gifts they were ready to hold the baby. We got everyone positioned in a chair and let Emersyn have her first taste of her siblings. Finn was a little rough but very sweet trying to pet her. Kenzie just wanted to snuggle her and love on her. After a few minutes Finn was up to his usual tricks and wanted to run the halls. He was very cute making occasional stops at the nursery and asking to be picked up so he could peek in the nursery and look at the other babies. Kenzie spent the entire visit wanting to be with the baby and cried when it was time to leave. She said "I just want to stay with my sister".  So precious, I hope she continues to feel this way as they grow up.

Emersyn Fiona Malcolm

A view from our delivery room

getting checked out by the pediatricians

first bath

All cleaned up

This morning started off with a bang. At 1am I woke up to contractions. I started timing them and decided to call the hospital at 4:30am. They had us come in to get checked. When we arrived contractions were 5 minutes apart and I was dilated 3cm. They said I was in the early stages and sent us for a walk. So Jim and I went to have breakfast and then took a walk down memory lane. We headed through Cole Valley and the Haight reminiscing about when we first moved to the city 6 years ago. After this we decided it was time to get down to business and started walking the hills.
When we returned to the hospital at 9:30 am we were discouraged to find out that my labor hadn't progressed. We were given the option to go home or be admitted and given a little assistance to get things going. After much debating, we decided to be admitted. We thought it might be a little challenging trying to labor at home with our crazy crew. We also thought that today would be a great birthday since our friend Emalee turned 2 on this day! So at 11am we were admitted to the corner penthouse and I was started on IV pitocin. At 3pm they checked me and I was only 4cm so the midwife decided to break my water. With this they noticed some meconium staining, so the pediatric team was notified. The monitors showed that baby looked fine so we kept going. Meanwhile I progressed into heavy labor and I was ready for the epidural. At 4pm the epidural was in place and I was feeling some relieve. Unfortunately things can not always be perfect and I experienced a window in the epidural. I had no pain from the hips down, but a burning on my left stomach with each contraction. It was still some relief and I was glad to have it.  At 5:30pm they checked me again and it was time to push. After a few short pushes Emersyn Fiona Malcolm was born at 6:04pm. She weighed in at 8lbs 14oz. She came out with very little crying and seemed amazingly relaxed. She was content to lay on the warming table and let everyone check her out. She needed a little suctioning to help with breathing and then was ready to eat. After she was cleaned up and completed all her tests we were moved to a postpartum room. She was very nice to us and slept through most of the night. We woke her up periodically to feed her, but otherwise did not hear a peep from her. We feel blessed to have another beautiful daughter.

40 weeks pregnant

Today marks the 40 weeks. Anytime now our new arrival will be here. Unfortunately this day was marked with the stomach bug for Mommy. A little gift from my preschooler. Luckily there was lots of family support. So while I spent the day in bed, the kids went with Daddy and Mum Mum to see Petaluma. They had fun exploring the base and seeing Jim's office.

Dance Class

Today was the first day of dance class. Although I'm not happy to still be pregnant, I was happy to be able to take Mackenzie to class. She was so excited to put on her new ensemble. Last night she previewed it for the whole family while she displayed all her moves around the living room.

Mum Mum has arrived

Mackenzie and Finn were both very excited about Jim's Mom's arrival. They've been having a great time monopolizing her time. Today we took her to see preschool and the playground. During nap time Mackenzie helped to make muffins.

Sibling Love & 39 weeks

Mackenzie and Finnegan are typical siblings and have their share of fights, but when they get along its really cute. Sunday night after dinner they went out to the patio to play while the grown ups sat at the table and talked. It was quiet for a while and then we heard Kenzie yelling "The babies are being born, the baby horses are being born!". This is how we found them.

39 weeks and time to get this baby out. I've taken to wearing Jim's lucky shirt! Please send labor vibes our way:)

Not so Happy Weekend :(

I am working the weekend, so Jim has the kids . When I came home this morning he had lunches packed and an itinerary set. They were headed down to Sausalito to the Children's museum and the headlands to take a look at the golden gate bridge in the fog. Well they made it as far as the parking lot of the museum. Kenzie got out of the car and promptly got sick in the parking lot. Poor kid, apparently got her first preschool bug so it was back home to rest. She spent the afternoon sleeping on the couch and was happy to come and wake me up for work to tell me all about her day. The expression she used was "Mommy I gassed in my mouth". Of course I didn't understand what she was talking about until she was right in front of my face and breathing on me. The joys of motherhood! Hopefully Mommy and everyone else will be spared.
On a happy note we are 39 weeks, so our little miss could make her arrival anyday.

Kitty in the fridge

Our downeast cat has proven to be very lovable, but not necessarily the smartest. Angus likes to jump in the fridge and investigate. He shows no concern when you close the door and leave him in there. (photo courtesy of Anne)

Labor Day

(A view from the top)

(Finn's first carousel ride)


(Finn's choo-choo face)

We were happy to finally all have a day off and decided to take a day trip for Labor Day. We headed to East Bay to the hills of Berkeley. We went to check out Tilden Park. Our first stop was a picnic lunch followed by the steam train. The kids enjoyed riding through the woods on the mini train. Our next stop was carousel, a favorite for Miss Mackenzie. Finn surprised us by deciding he was ready to ride on the carousel as well. He idolizes his big sister and wants to do what she's doing! After two rides we headed over to the little farm to see the animals. It was getting very hot by this point, but the kids were still excited to pet the goats and cows. They weren't very impressed by the chickens or the bunnies (seems the down east lifestyle has left its mark). After our adventure in the park we headed home for a nap followed by a dip in the pool. We're not sure we have too many days of swimming left, so we've been trying to get to the pool whenever possible.

A day at the Beach

So today while I got some much needed sleep after a night shift, Jim took Kenzie and Finn to Drakes Beach for the Point Reyes Annual Sand Sculpture Contest. The kids had a great time checking out all the art work. Kenzie's favorite sculpture was the dragon. Finn was more interested in playing in the sand.

Happy Saturday

We were so glad to finally have Jim home for a whole day with us. Mommy was happy not to get up first thing with the kiddos:) We spent the morning running errands. Kenzie got outfitted for dance class and then we stopped to pick up our new lamp shades. Well next to the lamp shade shop is a children's consignment shop. The last time we went by there we scored a stuffed rocking horse for the kids. This time I was looking for robeez (crib shoes) for the new little one. I found two adorable pairs. Then as I was leaving I noticed that the Halloween costumes were out. They had an over the top blue princess dress that had Kenzie written all over it. I got her out of the car and showed her, she was in heaven. Now we just need to find some sparkly shoes, a crown and wand. (pics coming soon)
Our next stop was the playground at Hamilton. The kids love this place and were very excited to show Daddy. Finn's favorite is the swing, Kenzie loves to go and make friends.
After a little playtime we headed to a new restaurant called "Toast". Breakfast for lunch so yummy. The kids were very excited for pancakes and french toast. Needless to say for once everything was eaten! Then it was home for a nap.
All in all not the most exciting of days, but a good time was had by all.

Time to start a Malcolm Family Blog

With much urging from a certain friend of mine (LB), I've decided to join the blogging world. I can't promise that we will post everyday, but with the impending arrival of the newest Malcolm, I will try to update frequently. Now in the final month we are 16 days away from "D" day and getting the stage set. So far we have washed the baby clothes, set up the bassinet and the diaper caddy. Now if we could just find that car seat!
The big question is when will she arrive? Mackenzie was born on her due date, Finn surprisingly (for anyone that knows his personality) was 5 days late. Here's hoping to an on time delivery.