The Pearl of My World

Well, she's been a long time coming, but here she is. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Pearl Lea Cazier!

Here are the vitals:

• Born at 1:49p MT.
• 7 lbs 8 oz.
• 19 inches tall
• 1 push (yes, I apologize for offending pregnant or recently pregnant women everywhere, but this is just too cool not to tell the world! And the whole labor only lasted for 3 hours--the contraction portion lasted all of 20 minutes. Wicked cool. )

Maleen and I had a little friendly familial wager going on. I bet she'd be 7 lbs 2 oz. Maleen said she'd be less. I win. Maleen said she'd be born at like 4:17p. I had her at 2:45p. I win again. There are other points of the wager that shall remain unknown to the world, but suffice it to say, I won ALL bets.

And for all you peeps who want more pics, here are some others to tide you over until tomorrow. (Yes, I know this isn't a lot of info, but I'll tell the whole story tomorrow.)

Just a note - mom and baby are doing well.

She'll Look a Little Different Tomorrow

I love this picture because I don't have stretch marks, but you can see the spider web veins on my tummy. I look like a photo in an anatomy book. (Tyler had to talk me into taking these pictures tonight, but I am really glad he did. Check out this one where you can see her foot sticking up at the top of my stomach.)



The countdown is on. There have been some minor contractions tonight but nothing to write home about. My guess is we will make it until the call tomorrow and then we will go in and have our baby. I am the usual anxious, excited wreck.

Tyler will be posting pictures tomorrow, since that is his job as big Daddy.

Dream Team

I went to the Dr. today and the good news is that I am dilated to a 3! This may sound painfully normal for many of you, but try and recall how thrilled I was to be at a 2 right before I had Daisy. I am just not that great at getting anything done early, so these numbers are exciting for me.

The bad news is that my heart is set on being induced now. I have everything planned for the fourth and I found out today that my two favorite doctors are on call that day. It would be my dream team picks for labor and delivery.

So I take back all the complaining and whining and coaxing Pearl. Please stay put for two more days.

Please.

Guess I Won't Bother with the Trampoline Either

So I went for a nice three-mile walk today. Not even ONE contraction, unless you count the two I had in the car hours later. Granted I was definitely sore afterward and had plenty of pain (although not the kind that brings a baby).

So no more workouts for me.

At this point I would actually prefer to have her next Thursday, because at least I can plan what to do with my other children.

Other funny things happening to distract me:

Ivory watched me shave my legs the other day (since I figured I shouldn't torture the pedicure people with four months worth of leg hair). She thought that was very cool. Then today when Dad was in the tub, Ivory stared down at his legs for a few moments and then said, "Dad, you should shave your legs, they are getting really hairy."

I should explain about Dad and the tub. We don't have the older girls bathe with Tyler anymore, but it is not like he locks the door. For instance, take this day.



Daisy was officially invited, but somehow the other two wanted to dip their feet and suddenly it was a party. He is pretty patient with his harem.

Salad

So, we have been doing the food co-op for a few weeks. I definitely feel like we have added many more fruits and vegetables to our diet. But nothing prepared me for tonight. Given the choice between ten pieces of sweet potato or salad, Ivory opted for the salad (since she had tried cucumber with Ranch earlier and enjoyed it).

Then she proceeded to eat three helpings of salad!!!

Basically, I think she likes the dressing (she mixes Ranch and Italian), but that does not discount the fact that she also consumed quite a bit of spinach, romaine, and a few carrots and tomatoes.

In true Ivory fashion, she thanked Daddy numerous times for the delicious salad and then requested it for breakfast.

I am super impressed and a little proud of myself. The non-vegetable eater is producing some healthy habits in her household. Give it up for me!! Too bad I didn't start this years ago, but it is never too late to change. (And make yourself and your family better.)

p.s. Of course when I say that we are adding more in, that doesn't mean that we are subtracting the sweets, evidenced by the load of chocolate donettes I inhaled today. Of course, I did eat an apple first.

Love Letter (kinda)

Dear Pearl,

Okay, now that I have gotten the car seat ready, the clothes washed, the bassinet set up, etc. you are welcome to come early. I know that would not be the trend of the Cazier girls, but Daisy somehow figured it out and do you want her to be smarter than you? I didn't think so. She is already the 'tall' one and she shouldn't get all the perks.

Also, I got my pedicure today, so now that the really serious stuff is taken care of, GET HERE!!



I do appreciate that since you haven't bothered to actually make an entrance, you move constantly to let me know you are there. That thing you do where you stretch and stick your feet in my side is especially handy. I can't imagine that you are comfortable in there because I am certainly not comfortable out here, but I will be kind enough to let you stay for one more week. Then no more Mr. Nice Mom. You are officially out of time next Thursday. I feel I am being overly generous as is. If you deem it worth your time to arrive in a prompt fashion, I promise to love you just a tiny bit more than all your sisters for at least a week. (By then I will be so sleep deprived that I can't be counted on to keep my promises.)

So there you have it. Everyone is very excited to meet you. Ivory can not figure out why you aren't here since I clearly told her you would arrive after her birthday and it is clearly after her birthday now. (She's four, what can I say?) Even Daisy will probably like you...probably.

Love,

Your Mom

p.s. In the case that you have no control over getting out and it is really up to my body to make the first move, then I apologize in advance. My body has never really figured out how to go into labor. I really think Daisy was a fluke, with kind nurses who let me stay at the hospital. As things stand, you are probably in for another week of smooshedness. What can I say? Just remember that this hurts me more than it hurts you.

An Orange By Any Other Name...

This afternoon for lunch, I was peeling an orange for the girls. Ivory came over and clearly stated, "Daddy, that's a orange. A BIG orange." (Yes, I know it should be "an" by Ivory hasn't learned that yet.)

To which, I replied, "Yup, it's a good orange."

"But Daddy, what kind of orange is that? Daisy doesn't like those oranges."

"It's a Navel orange. I think Daisy will like this orange. It smells really good."

"Oh, well, I like oranges, but I don't like Navy-L oranges. I tried them once when I was a baby, and I don't like them."

I just chuckled as I put the orange slices on her plate.