Mom, Dad. I'm Gaelic.

Happy St. Patricks Day, everyone! This year our family will celebrate the holiday in the traditional way that everyone (who doesn't drink) celebrates St. Patricks Day. By eating! And to make it even more joyous, this year Holly can really EAT! She just had her 4th annual allergy testing and this year all her food allergies were GONE. I could not believe it! After being forced to choke down bread made from tapioca starch and rice flour for the past 4 years, she's finally able to eat like every other kid. Chocolate chip cookies! Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Pizza! Chicken nuggets! Reese's peanut butter cups! Grilled cheese sandwiches! Brownies! Pretzels! Corn dogs! Scrambled eggs! Waffles! Mayonnaise! Real bread! I won't to have butter her 'toast' with a separate knife, or make a special Holly-ized version of nearly every meal, or terrify the babysitter by showing her how to use an epipen in case Holly stops breathing, or take away half her Halloween candy! She can even eat her own birthday cake! The list could literally go on and on... I'm just so proud of Holly for always being so sweet through the gross and different food she's had to eat these last few years. When we got in the car after the momentous visit to the allergist, Holly pumped both her fists in the air and said, "I DID it!" That sweet exclamation brought tears to my eyes. Forget St. Patrick, this year I'll celebrate my Holly. Because she deserves it.

How to Devastate a Dental Hygienist.

that's how.

Not that I'm opposed to children's baby teeth falling out, in general. In fact, I consider myself PRO in all things children-having-fun-with-teeth related. (and everyone knows that wiggling/loosing teeth and being visited by the tooth fairy are SUPER fun!) At least that's how this girl sees it.
But I AM against loosing your teeth before their prime. I mean, that tooth wasn't even 4 years old! My little Holly-Bolly just had her 4th birthday last month! That tooth should have had at least 2 more good years to it! *sigh* Sadly, Holly has always been careless where her mouth was concerned. Always smashing it into things. The concrete floor at Walmart...her cousin Lily's head... That poor tooth finally succumbed tonight to an innocent bowl of white chicken chili. And I, her dental hygienist mom, am devastated. Holly, however, couldn't be more excited. She has been running around looking into every available reflective surface for the last 30 minutes. She LOVES it. She is blissfully unaware that she'll have that lovely hole in her face for 3 more years. Or that loosing that little tiny tooth so early will cause her permanent tooth to be delayed coming into that spot. It will most likely cause crowding and general crazy-lookin-teethness for several years. Until she gets braces. *sigh* Well, at least someone's happy about it.

For Unto Us (the chabo's) A Child (or two) Is Born!

I apologize for the tardiness of this post. All I can say in my defense is that I have been very busy. :)

Welcome Alice Robin Chabo. 18 inches, 4 lbs, 15 oz. November 30th, 12:22 pm. Adorable.

And...

Welcome Penelope Anne Chabo. 18 1/2 inches, 5 lbs, 3 oz. November 30th, 12:23 pm. Cute as a button.


Late Monday evening, Nov. 29th, I felt a strange pain and wondered if my water had broken. So I told the hubby and scooted to the bathroom. A few hours later I was still very unsure. My honey is a natural worrier when it comes to me being in labor (which isn't really his fault considering he had to deliver our last one in the kitchen when we didn't get to the hospital in time. Plus, as a nurse anesthetist, he sees lots of births and knows all the things that can go wrong, while I am blissfully ignorant.) so he stayed up cleaning the house (his stress relief) while trying every tactic to get me to wake up the kids (at 1 am!) and drag them to the hospital so they could check and see if my water really broke. I flatly refused. I was having no contractions, no leakage, I was exhausted, and had a migraine. I was going to bed. He only accepted when I promised to go to the doctor the next day and have the 'i-think-my-water-broke' test done. Well rested the next morning, I got the kids up and ready, took Sophia to school, took Holly to get her hair cut, and finally dropped both Holly and Lucy at my girlfriend Elisa's house while I just whipped over to the hospital so they could confirm that my water hadn't, in fact, broken. I was mistaken. My water had, in fact, broken and I hadn't even brought the packed hospital bag. I had walked into the hospital with no more then my jacket and purse. And of course because of my speedy labors in the past and the baby on the bottom (Alice) being breech, they were all mad at me for not coming in sooner. (whatever OB people! I wasn't having any contractions and this isn't my first trip around the Birthing Center! At least I'm well rested!!) So they threw me in the OR and prepped me for a c-section.
The next 30 minutes was a miracle. Everything went great. Both my OB dr's happen to be there so they both helped deliver our 2 girls. The bassinettes were positioned such that I could see my babies when they came out, which I loved. Alice came out first and screaming. Penny was next and came out not so much screaming as grunting. (c-section babies often have goop in their lungs, and this was Penny. She coughed it out soon enough.) They were perfect. I was numb. It was heaven.
When I was still pregnant and moping about the baby being breech and needing a c-section, one girlfriend of mine commented that this way I will have experienced it all. Hospital birth, epidural, induction, home birth, natural labor/birth, and c-section. I have to say in my experience, natural childbirth is a 10 on the pain scale, and both induction without epidural and post surgery c-section pain are an 11. Holy cow. That recovery is some business. But, now 2 weeks out, I feel really great, my girls are gorgeous, and we're all happy. Hooray for babies!

Where the heck have you been?!

Well, I will tell you where the heck I've been. Mostly laying glassy-eyed on the couch, occasionally barfing, and even less often, doing something else. So here's a photo version of the past 6ish months of the latter.

Nana came to stay with us to take care of Laura and the kiddos for 2 whole months (Thanks, Nana!!) . Sophia graduated from preschool with a real degree and everything, and Sophia and Holly had their dance recital and performed like pro's.







Travis's Mom had 6 aneurysms and a stroke or 2 at the end of May (and as you can see that did not stop her from being the social butterfly that she is :)). Travis took Sophia and Holly with him down to NC to visit and they got to see Grandma, Papa, and cousins Vivi and CJ as well as cousins Lily, Abby, and Claire and their Aunts and Uncles that live there. We also went swimming at the pool and feed the animals in Amish country when Papaw came up to see Nana and us during July 4th.







We had smores in the backyard fire pit, had a girls 'spa and beauty day', danced at our friend Elisa's wedding, and Sophia and Holly took swimming lessons (they are fabulous swimmers, naturally!)







Aunt Susy came to stay with us and brought cousins Lily and Claire with her. As you can see, we were all very excited. :) We chilled at the pool, snuggled and played, and rode the pony's at Hersberger's Farm.







Sophia had her very first day of Kindergarten. Holy Cow. See how happy she is? The third photo is Sophia's face as she gets ready to go into her classroom. The fourth photo is my face when I broke down in the car. The last photo is the junk food I bought at the store to pork out on at home cause I missed her. Hey, I still weigh less then I did when I got pregnant, so I'm allowed.







Travis and I had our 8th anniversary (awwww...). Sophia and Holly started dance lessons back up. Mommy turned 27 again and Lucy learned how to make a grumpy face.







We went to the Coshocton County Fair and rode LOTS of kiddie rides. Then we went down to NC to visit and got to go to the NC State Fair to hold ducks, get our faces painted, and see amazing crafts (yes, that IS the Tardis from Dr. Who done in beadwork. Fabulous!)







Halloween came and the girls dressed up as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Mulan. I had a costume, too. Then Travis ran a half marathon! It was freezing outside but he did great!







And finally, Lucy turned 2! She's so cute. If you look in the last picture you'll notice a dog. His name is Petey. We found him and thought we were going to keep him, but alas, after a month his owners have finally come forward. We will miss him. (But truth be told, a certain mommy who is pregnant with twins really can't handle a new dog on top of everything else right now, so even though he is a sweet little dog, it worked out for the best in her humble opinion. :))






So, there you have it. A shortened version of the last 6 1/2 months. Hopefully I'll be posting again shortly because I have given birth! I'm scheduled for a c-section on Dec. 14th (baby on the bottom is breech). So, maybe my next post will be shorter but infinitely cuter. :)