More Pictures

Here are some more pictures of Alice. This first one I used for the birth announcements I made and sent out, it's kind of hard to see very well, but that is what is under the picture. So cute with a little smile!

Here she is a couple of days ago. I can't believe she is already 3 weeks old!

Here is Alice having her first bath in the baby tub. She quite liked the warm water, but hated it when we took her out and into the cold air!

And maybe someone out there can help me out. For those of you that have girls, what have you used to stick bows on their heads. I have tried a few things but nothing seems to work very well. Any hints or tips would be appreciated!

The Kids

Here's what the kids have been doing:

Eli has been making up jokes. Here are a couple:

"What is the longest break for a TV show or cartoon?"
"When it's over!"

"What did the mustard say to the impatient person?"
"Please don't squeeze me!" (Said in a very amusing squeezed voice).

Oh the humor of a 6 year old.

And what has the 2 year old been up to? Being a cowboy. Anything that he can twirl around like a rope he does, including of course string, ribbons, but also pillowcases and small blankets. The other day he found cookie cutters in the shapes of a cowboy hat and a cowboy boot and took to carrying them around like he was wearing them. And then he found a little toy horse, I mean little, as in 3 inches, possibly less, and put it between his legs and rode it around the house. When he sets out to be something, he does it whole-heartedly. I wonder what he wants to be for Halloween.....

And Alice is doing well. Getting better at sleeping at night, not too much of being awake for extended periods of time in the wee hours of morning. She is definitely growing and filling out. The tabs on the newborn diapers don't overlap anymore! However most of the 0-3 month clothes is still rather big. I will put some pictures up next post, I didn't get them downloaded from the camera yet.

A Timely Arrival

I am sure you can all guess what this post is about. The baby did come, and I didn't even have to wait past my due date, she decided to be punctual, arriving just an hour into September 1st. So here is Alice Leikili Marler, born at 1:11am on September 1st. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 8 oz, 18 inches long. And of course we think she is beautiful!

The labor was not too long, once it really got going. Of course I was having contractions most of Sunday and all night til Monday morning when they stopped. They were never very intense or close together so I wasn't sure when she would decide to come. The contractions started again around dinner time, and progressively got closer together and harder. So at 10:30pm we headed over to the hospital. I was at a 5 when we got there. Joe and I hung out for a bit, watched some TV. I tried some Fentinol (or however you spell that), which made me really dizzy. Then decided maybe I really did want an Epidural. The nurse came in and checked me and said I was at an 8, but then I would have to get through my bag of IV fluids before they could do an epidural. So I wasn't sure if there was time, but she said we could try. So the contractions got more intense, then really intense just as the fluids finished. Joe got the nurses and they came in and started getting everything ready. The nurse laid me down and as she did, my water broke. So the contractions were then very painful and right on top of each other. The doctor wasn't there yet. The nurses kept telling me to breathe deep and I was trying to. Then all of the sudden I had to push and the baby came out on to the bed! So the doctor missed it, the nurses didn't even actually catch her. Good thing the bed was still all put together! So it was pretty intense, but quick. The doctor arrive a few minutes later and was somewhat discombobulated because she had missed it. Of course she still had to finish things up with me, but the nurses had wiped off the baby and cut the cord and were taking care of her. So I did it again, no epidural, but quick! Phew!

Her big brothers love her lots and like to hold her. She likes to sleep a lot, and seems to think the best time to be awake is between 12:30-2:30 am so far. We are working on changing that!

She has no idea how spoiled of a little girl she will be! First girl on the Mecham side (7 total), 4th on the Marler (out of 13)! I am sure it will be an adventure for all of us who are so used to boys. But it will be so much fun too. We are so excited you are here, Alice. We love you!