Bugs, Babies & Life Stories

Well today was a public holiday so we packed up the girls and Grandma Verlie and headed up to Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens. It turned into a lovely day, the sun was shining and we have a great family day. Caitie fed the fish, chased lizards and ran up and down hills, needless to say she slept all the way home and then for another 2 hours.

"Just taking Pip for a walk Mum, we will be back soon"

"I Love My Sister"

Well we are slowly starting to get into some kind of routine. Pip still has her days and nights confused and was awake for her 1am feed last night and then was awake every 1/2 hour or so and at 4am Andrew took over and then she was awake for another feed at 5am.. As you can imagine Andrew and I are walking around with our eyes hanging out!!!

We had our first home Community Nurse visit yesterday and Pip is back to her birth weight in 2 weeks, so she is getting a good feed and putting on great weight. Definitely different from Caitie.

The girls are so similar but are also so different. They are opposite in personality already. Caitie was so placid, slept and ate, Pip is just a grump. Caitie has even started asking her "what's your problem" as she has heard me doing it, it is very cute.

Caitie has really settled down, we are still having some behavior problems but i think that is just the age not cause of Pip. Over all she is a great helper and loves her little sister. We have Pip feed, bathed and in bed by 5pm so I can get dinner ready and then it is special Caitie time until bed at 7pm, which is nice, lots of flash cards, puzzles, stories and cuddles.

Well another formality down and only the 5th November to go before we will be know as Rev Parkinson and Family......

It was a great night, Andrew spoke on behalf of those going for accreditation which he did really well and made us all SOOOOO very proud.

Thanks to Aunty Merra who took a rather over tired and crying Philippa so I could sit with Caitlyn and watch the accreditation Service part of the night. Of course after 10 days of being in this world Pip chose last night to discover her voice.

A special thanks to all from Windsor that came down to support Andrew and cheered as he was presented, this meant so much to both of us, especially to Andrew. I know he was getting a bit discouraged as the day went on, with each new text message that someone else couldn't make it. But those who did make it covered all aspects of Andrew's Ministry and were all people that mean a lot to us and made us feel very special and loved. Thank you.

As I was videoing there are not any photos....., but we are hoping to get a copy of the professional ones that were taken.

Caitlyn 1 day old

Philippa 1 day old

Me & My Sister (13/09/2006)

Philippa Jade Parkinson

Born @ 9.17 am

Monday 4th September 2006

Weight: 3525 g ~ 7pd 12oz

Caitlyn came to the hospital with us and got a special hat to wear too!!

The happy family

Well we are less than 24 hours away from meeting this new addition to the family and it is all starting to get a bit much....... Andrew & Caitie are doing fine, Andrew is focused on his last service for 3 weeks and Caitie is just driving me mad getting into everything that she knows she shouldn't be touching and then has the nerve to ask me "mummy what's wrong?" when I yell at her!!!!!!

I'm not coping quite so well.... I am really missing my mum and have been just putting it out of my mind but it has got to the crunch point that it is no longer possible. Also the nerves have started to really kick in and to be honest the last place I want to be this afternoon is over at the church on the computer, but atleast it will make what time is left go faster.... I just pray that I can sleep tonight, the last 2 nights I have had about 4 hours in total and if you have read my previous blog you will see that it was published about 1am this morning.

Anyway we have to be at Westmead at 7:30am, so going on what happened with Caitie then this bub should be born about 8:30 - 9am and God willing all is well and the bub is fine we should be a family of 4 back in my room by about 10:30 - 11am.

For those interested in visiting, Westmead are rather strict and it is only 11am - 12pm during the day and 6pm - 8pm at night and I am hoping to come home Friday morning after Swimming (that is Caitie & Andrew swimming.......)

Well I have left instructions for Andrew on how to blog and to add the photos....... But if he doesn't get round to it, I will be back on line as of Friday and will blog some then.

Can I ask that you keep us all in your thoughts over the next week, Caitlyn has never been away from me over night before and a week is a long time without "Mummy when I want her". Also for Andrew as he will be running back and forwards and has Caitie all to himself, also he usually sleeps through her crying at night. And for me as I cope with this new bub, the feelings about mum and missing Andrew and Caitie.

We started our day just relaxing around the house, watching TV and having cuddles with Daddy.

Did a bit of last minute house work and headed out to do last minute grocery shopping. Then off to the pool for a fun time of jumping and swimming and sliding.

I have just got home from my last appointment with Kumara and he has agreed to do the caesar on the 4th September, which is what we wanted!!!!!

YAY!!!!!

However, he did write on my card that "patient not coping, demanding LSCS on 04/09/06! As a joke cause I told him that I was over the braxton hicks that hurt, swollen feet and not sleeping, his reply was "well atleast your not as bad as the last lady she was crying cause her child would not sleep"..... So I offered to cry if that would make him agree to the 4th.

So now the offical countdown has begun and we just need to wait now for the time we are scheduled in, which we will be told the Friday before.

As you can see it has been rather cold down here recently.

It is really interesting how quickly this baby girl of ours is growing up, she says her own grace, sings all the songs she knows CONSTANTLY in the car problem is the Bar Bar Black sheep end up on the bus with the babies going wah wah wah while the stars twinkle in the sky....

Also our latest is "what you doin mum?" then "what you doin dad?" then "what you doin Caitie?" and we are quickly learning that you have to watch what you say now.... "What you doing LAZ?" is also a favorite.

Here is a comparison between Caitie and the bub, problem is that this is Caitie at 38 weeks and the bub at 33 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well we are official on the last 10 week count down. As of yesterday I was 31 weeks with 9 to go!!! I had a check up with Kumara on Tuesday and the bub has turned head down (at 26 it was bum down, as was Caitie at that point and never turned), so that was a surprise. We took that opportunity to talk to Kumara about the delivery. He said that the best option for the bub was a caesar and the best option for me recovery time and all is natural, but who is to say that if I did go natural that I wouldn't need stitches anyway or get an infection ect..... I know what a caesar means and I don't think that I could mentally cope with natural with the risk to the baby always in the back of my mind. So we have decided that it will be a caesar and in 3 weeks will find out the date. We are hoping it will be the 4th rather than the 11th as Andrew has his accreditation dinner on the 14th, which I would really like to be at and Baptist Youth Ministries commitments on the 15th, which would mean I get home from hospital on Friday and he is out all night Friday night. But we also know that we can't order the delivery of the baby to fit in with our schedule. But there is no harm in asking or praying!!!!!!

All other things are going well, I feel a lot heavier this time, but I think that is cause instead of the bub taking its weight on its butt, I am carrying it. My weight is doing really well like last time so hopefully once the bub is here I can keep it off this time.

We have all had the flu over the last few weeks and it is taking its toll on Andrew, as since he was sick with CMV he does not recover well from sickness and get tired so easily. I would really value your prayers for this and I find some days I am struggling with Caitie and want him to give me some time out and he just wants to come home and switch off, which is not possible when you are needed to watch a 2 1/2 year old. I am also concerned that things are only getting more hectic from here on in. July is almost over, August has a few spare weekends, September is the bub, October is slightly quieter at this stage, November is TOTALLY booked now with 3 weddings and big boys toys then it is December and Noel is on 6 weeks long service leave!!!! I know we can do it but it is going to be hard.

Also as of the 30th June, 2006 we are now a 1 income family, Dad has decided to go and work for someone else, which means we are winding up the business as such and that means no more wages. This was not a quick or easy decision, but the work is just not out there now to support 2 wages and business expenses. And the government is making it harder to do what we do and charge. So I am unemployed!!! for the first time since leaving school.

I thought we had accomplished so much last week with Caitie going in the pool on her own. And then today, not only did she do everything she did last week including putting her eye is to blow bubbles, but today she swam on her own with out her floatie for about 1 metre back to the wall after jumping in to Corina.

It it so great that she has taken to swimming on her own so well and it just shows you that a lot of the time it is us the parents that don't give our kids enough credit for what they can do and hold them back in fear that they might fail.

Today we went to swimming and Caitlyn went in the water and did her entire lesson on her own with out mummy needing to get wet. It was so great as it now means that her and Tahlia can move up to the next class, where mums or dads are not required in the water. Which is great timing, (1) just in time for the baby and (2) the water is so cold in winter that if I don't have to get in all the better.

She did so well, sat on the edge when Tahlia was in the water, blew bublles and kicked when asked and jumped in with out any second thoughts on demand. She made her mum & dad very proud today so we went to busy bodies (kids play centre) to celebrate.

While daddy was at the gym we decorated the lounge room with lots of balloons and then we waited for him to come home to give him his presents. One of which was a Lambs Wool Seat Cover for the Ducati.

We had a nice day around the house, cleaning the car to put the new car seat covers on and just general tidy up. For dinner, we had a nice family dinner of pizza on the coffee table and once Caitie was in bed a 7pm we sat back to watch 'Breakfast at Tiffanys'

Baby Parkinson MK 2 has a body, head, 2 arms, 2 legs and all the neccesary inside bits and the cutest little butt as it showed off at every chance!!!!!

The Ultrasound Lady had done everything she had to do except seen the heart and every time she tried to look the baby would roll over and stick its bum in the air (it is already a Parkinson), so I had to go for a walk and that didn't work so then she sent me off to have something to eat and drink, which worked when I went back in we still got mooned and then it rolled over and just layed there for her to do what she needed to do.

It was so reasuring to see that all was well and everything was were and doing what should have been. I have been stressing a bit over this one as I was 19 weeks and still had no kicks (the placenta is at the front like Caitlyn which I suspected, and I didn't feel her till 20 weeks). Also we have had a few friends have miscarrages or babies born with problems lately which have just scared me a bit. But I can relax now and enjoy. The sickness is pretty much gone, my energy is back (except to clean the kitchen, I really hate that at the moment!). Caitlyn is sleeping 12 hours straight at night now, so all we need is the dogs to do the same.

We started our Saturday with McDonalds for breakfast and then a fun train ride to Olympic Park with Uncle Dave & Aunty Dee at 9am. Once at the show with the "REST of SYDNEY" we headed to the Animal Walk that took us trough all the pavilions, especially the animals. Caitie got to pat a 2 day old chick, pat a sheep, say hello to a calf, a very large pig, a goat and some puppies. After this it was time to sit for a while, eat an ice cream and watch the Grand parade in the main arena. We thought about a pony ride but for $6 and we could guarantee that Caitlyn would chuck a wobbly and not get on we decided maybe another time. Caitlyn got her first show bags "Nemo", Banana's In PJ's and a Fairy Bag, which she has had much fun with since getting home. It was a very long and tiring day and after a train ride home Caitlyn went to bed at 6:30pm and woke up at 7am Sunday morning. It was an experience and I am sure there are many people nursing pram injuries after the day. Bring on the Hawkesbury Show and the back pack!!!!!!

I think it is now time that we face facts and accept that our BABY girl is now a LITTLE girl and growing up so very fast.

This is a picture of our 1st Size 1 Outfits and Size 5 Boots from the Girls Sizes 1 - 12 section and not the Baby Sizes 0000 to 1 section.

She is talking non stop and that is not an exaggeration either. Calls daddy and grandma on the phone and can turn the tv on and off when she likes. Has started to use the toilet even if some days it is rather hit and miss, but we are getting there, slowly. She loves to draw, play with her playdough, crawl through the tunnel and ride her bike.

She has also started to show signs of her parents determination and stubbornness, but nevertheless, she is still our little princess.

Saturday was a great day as we celebrated the marriage of very good friends Scott & Tamara.

It was a very hot day (ending with me suffering heat stroke on Sunday) and they had decided to have a 3pm garden wedding at the Sebel Resort Windsor (Rum Corps). I don't think they had anticipated on a 39deg day on March but all in all it was the best day, everyone looked beautiful and had a good time.

Andrew felt very privileged to conduct the ceremony and even though he does not like the stress involved in the official side of things (ie if he forgets something they are not legally married!!!) but he did love the opportunity to do this for them.

He did it!

He wore the dress, the cap and the cape and looked very sexy too!!!

It was a great night shared with family and special friends.

Now all we have to do is wait for the Baptist Annual Convention in September for accreditation and then on the 5th Nov, 2006 Andrew Parkinson will become

Reverend Andrew Parkinson.

It is all so very exciting!

Helping Daddy put on his tie at home

Andrew putting on his sexy dress

That's MY DADDY!!!!!

Receiving his well earned Degree

On stage proudly holding his degree