It's a wrap!

Yesterday I got a package in the mail and in it was my new favorite baby accessory. 5 yards of knit fabric! No, really--It's a wrap that Natalie serged up for me and I LOVE it! I am always trying to nurse or just hold Lyra and do several other things at once and the wrap totally makes it easier. She just snuggles up in there and falls right asleep. And she's so close to my body I don't worry about bumping her little head into things.

Fingers,Toes and other general cuteness

For some reason I thought I wouldn't be quite as picture happy this time around since Lyra is our second baby, but I was mistaken. I'm constantly running to grab the camera! Drives Ryan a little crazy, but he's a good sport. And of course, Lisa has never been this excited to be in a picture, but any time I go to get one of Lyra, Lisa's head is popping into the frame. She really is in love with her little sister. We try not to be too controlling about her touching and hugging Lyra and just to teach her how to be gentle. She's a good big sister. With Lisa I didn't make a point of getting a picture to show how tiny her little fingers and toes were, so I wanted to be sure I did this time. Lisa did not want to be left out, so we photographed hers, too. I forget how small she still is until I see pictures like this!
At preschool the kids take turns bringing this stuffed dog home for the weekend and then they have to write in a journal what they did with Goldie. Lisa wanted to go up to the gardens on BYU-I campus and take pictures so we brought Goldie along.

Preschool

Lisa has now been going to preschool for a month at Kinder-Ready Kids Preschool. The Preschool is in Miss Kari's basement at her house. She has it set up like a little classroom. How she fits 15 kids in there is a mystery to me, but I guess they are little bodies. Ryan and I decided it would be a good idea for her to be around more kids her age and have the structure that preschool would provide. And thanks to Marmee contributing to the cost (a very reasonable 65.00/month!) we haven't had to worry about making that work. It is not too far from our apartment so sometimes she will ride her bike, but mostly we still use the stroller cause it's easier for me with Lyra. Although Lisa has had some unwilling days, she has mostly enjoyed the experience. Her teachers are great and she seems to get along with the other kids. It was only one week after she'd started school that I had Lyra and that made it a little hard for her. She didn't want to leave mom and her new little sister. One day when I went to drop her off she got real teary-eyed and turned to me and said, "I told you I didn't want to go." It threw me off guard because usually she is saying,"Bye mom! See you later!" But one of her teachers came and held her and I asked if she'd be ok and she said yes, so I left. (Had to get out of there before I started crying myself! One of those post baby delivery emotional moments)When I came back to get her she was skipping all around and seemed to be fine. Since then there have been only a few protests about going and a well-placed bribe usually takes care of that. I know eventually we'll want her to be happy about going just because it's fun, but for now...a few little bribes can't hurt too much.
It really has been a good experience so far. I love that she has a place to go be around other kids a few times a week. She is learning how a classroom runs and what will be expected of her in school. And she is singing new songs ALL the time. I LOVE it! She has such a memory for those things. The other day she came home and recited (with minimal help from dad) "I'm Being Eaten by a Boa Constrictor." She also loves "Slippery fish" and "I was Skipping Home from School." On her second day they had a birthday party for all the kids with birthdays that week and she got a birthday crown with candy taped all over it. She was very excited. Yay for preschool!

Funny things she says

I just want to write this down before I forget...a few days ago when Lisa came home from a trip to Yellowstone with Ryan, Grandpa and Aunt Aimee she sat down on the couch to hold Lyra and proceeded to tell us that Lyra had been "having a party in the uterus". Tee-hee...she sure makes us laugh.

While I'm on the subject of funny things she says, I might as well include this one: While driving home from going out to lunch, Gramommy and Grandpa were speaking in code (spelling so Lisa wouldn't know they were talking about going to the park) so Lisa started spelling too, telling them that she was going to the B-A-R. Gramommy and Grandpa had a good laugh about that one. I think they had just passed the library and she saw those letters. Funny girl.

September

What an exciting month! Lisa started preschool, had a birthday and welcomed her new sister into the family. Also, on Sunday I celebrated my 28th birthday. Ryan's family is here this week and we've enjoyed visiting and especially appreciated the extra help. Gramommy has a magic touch. She makes all little kids happy. And big kids too! :)Last week Katie and Dad came for a surprise visit on the weekend and it was so good to see them too. Dad and Ryan got to sneak in a fishing trip to Warm River and I had so much fun watching Katie with the girls (I love saying that...the girls!)She is such a good Aunt. She has a special way with her nieces. She has nicknamed Lyra "peanut". Lisa has always been her "girlfriend". I missed mom A LOT, but hopefully we will get to see her at the end of October if we make a trip to Ca.
Lisa and I unfortunately picked up some germs this week--she's got strep and is battling a fierce fever and my throat has been feeling sore. I'm really hoping Lyra doesn't get sick from us. It has been a learning experience adjusting to having two kids, but I've had a lot of help and Ryan and I are both loving our little girls.

Lyra Cherie Terry was born 6 lbs. 7 oz, 19in. long with a head full of dark hair just like me and Lisa. She actually arrived 1 week early, but was still a couple of ounces smaller than Lisa. I went into labor around 3am, checked into the hospital (which I kept accidentally calling the hotel) around 11am (after making a trip to Wal Mart and walking around Smith Park several times) and delivered Lyra at about 3pm. My water had not broken yet that morning so I went to the doctor just to be sure I was in labor and I was dilated 4 cm. They said I could walk for awhile until I wanted to check into the hospital so I painfully did, hoping it would move the labor along. It did help a little. Once I checked in, I walked some more and was going to get in the jacuzzi tub, but then Dr. Meredith said he would just come break my water and it went pretty fast after that. When I was dilated about 9cm, I was starting to feel weak, but then before I knew it they were saying I could push any time so that gave me more energy to make it all the way through. I pushed about 4 times which took maybe 15 min., compared to Lisa and pushing for almost 2 hours. But I will say that for some reason I was WAY more aware of the pain this time! It really REALLY hurt! Last time it just felt like crazy intense pressure, but this time...wow. I chose with both girls to not have an epidural unless I really needed it, and both times were amazing experiences. To be there completely experiencing the moment felt so exhilarating. I loved how when they set Lyra on my chest she lifted her head up as if she was already reaching to nurse. They were a little concerned about her breathing at first and I was nervous they were going to take her to the special care nursery like with Lisa, but then they decided she was ok. It was special to be able to hold her right away for a long time. I am recovering well so far, taking advantage this time of the prescription pain meds. With Lisa I took nothing. Why I felt the need to just deal with the after pains the first time I cannot say, but I'm really appreciating the Tylenol with Codeine this time. I do feel like I am re-learning a lot of things since it has been four years and I've forgotten a lot about having a newborn. But I've had a lot of help and it is going pretty well. Cortney kept Lisa for the day while I was in the hospital and then brought her to see us. It was so comforting to know that Lisa was with someone she liked and I didn't have to worry about her cause I knew she was having fun. Aunt Aimee was a HUGE help with Lisa, taking care of her pretty much all day for the next couple days while I was in the hospital. I love seeing Aimee with Lyra...she says she could just hold her ALL day. Lisa has been such a sweet older sister. She didn't understand the first night why mommy and Lyra weren't coming home from the hospital and I felt bad, but I knew I needed the rest and so I just tried to explain that to her. Ryan and Aimee both made sure to do lots of fun things with her.

Happy Birthday, Lisa!

Tomorrow Lisa will be 4 years old! We celebrated on Labor day by going with some friends to the Zoo in Idaho Falls. We've had a lot of friends come and go as they graduate from school around here, and we weren't sure how much of a party she would get, so we were very grateful for everyone who came and made it such a special day for her. Cortney brought Kyle and Savannah, the Borups brought Louanna and the Bishops brought their three little girls-Sicily, Daphne and Ayla. Plus Aunt Aimee and Aunt Debra were able to be there! Lisa had so much fun.
After much consideration of several options, Lisa decided on a princess castle cake. I had fun making it...that is, after I baked a second 9x13 size because I ruined the first one! Lisa had a lot fun with her friends and we didn't have to worry about keeping tabs on her in the zoo. If she ever got too far away, Sicily made sure to call her back.
The next day Lisa was surprised by a big box from Marmee that had a surplus of school supplies to have fun with. She LOVED it all. She starts preschool today and is totally thrilled about it.