Welcome Little Brother

The Long Awaited Arrival of Demitri Shane Dooley

I was having a normal pregnancy with slight differences from my first. These include carrying much lower and having contractions all of the third trimester. Consequently I was not surprised that on November 16th I was having many contractions. A few days before I was told by my doctor that when labor started it would proceed quickly since Demitri was so low, and I should leave as soon as I felt labor signs (I guess I should have clarified exactly what that meant). I used Shane's handy dandy contraction app on his phone to time my contractions for fun, and I was surprised that they were relatively consistent. I timed 5 contractions all about a minute long and varying from 10-12 minutes. I thought to myself wouldn't the hospital laugh if I came in with contractions that far apart. As you can read about Daphney's birth that meant she was approximately 2 days away when I had contractions that far apart. So I was really surprised when I read the next 5 contraction times. 

8:31 - "I must have not timed it right."

8:24 - "That is weird."

6:19 - Show Shane my contraction record history.

4:23 - Shane packs a bag without any "I told you to have these ready"

4:36 - Whisk Daphney out of her nap and strap her into the car.              (Actually I sat in the car and Shane did everything)

We dropped Daphney off at a ward members house. (Daphney ended up wearing half of their daughter's clothes because we had to pack bags so quickly). And we arrived at the hospital between 6:45 and 7pm. 

At The Hospital:

They had me wait in a triage room to decide if I was going to stay. Well duh I could have told them that! They kept asking exasperating questions for while you are in labor like- 

1.) What do we have going on today? - Well I am having a baby! How do you want me to expound?

2.) What do you guys have at home? - Everybody asked that wanting to know if Daphney was a girl or boy. I being in pain really wanted to start listing all the items in our home...

Anyways... after a while of waiting there they quickly moved me into another room that I would be staying in for the remainder of my time there. PS. Throw carpets in hallways are a bad idea when you are going to be wheeling around women in labor. Long story short- I had the option to break my water to quicken labor and "die" because of all the pain or to try to get an epidural and hope I would not deliver before it could take effect. Needless to say I am weak and chose the epidural until I found out that he was being called in from his house. Needless to say I am weak and decided to stick to that by choosing then to break my water and just get this over with. I actually thought that this natural birth I learned a great deal from, but never want to go that route again! 

* I was in the middle of labor when I told Shane to text mom and tell her I was not getting an epidural. He responded, "Now?" I said, "Yes I can't do this unless I know she is thinking of me and feeling sorry for me." : D 

He was born at 7:59 pm on November 16th at 7 lbs and 8.6 oz. Lucky for me he came early since my last doctor told me never to have a larger baby than Daphney who was only 6lbs and 10 oz. If he would have waited the remaining 11 days I might have been in big trouble. Demitri eats wonderfully and is already above his birth weight. 

We were so excited when after church Daphney got to come and visit us at the hospital. As you can see she was a little hesitant at first, but warmed up really quickly. After Shane and Daphney left for a minute and came back into the hospital room Daphney had the biggest smile on her face when she saw that I still had the baby. I think now it is a toss up for Daphney's favorite: Technology or Baby Demitri. Our son was a little jaundice and so we had to have a billirubin blanket for a while. Daphney kept standing on the machine so she could get to Demitri. She is a great big sister and they are going to make quite the Dooley Duo. 

Halloween 2013: Peter Pan

Shane: Peter Pan (He agreed on account that his costume would be cool and manly). Oh man did I lose sleep over trying to figure out how to accomplish that one. 

Katie: Captain Hook- So I love to try and make the costumes for as cheap as possible. (It is part of the thrill) But that is why I do not have an awesome Captain Hook hat.

Daphney: Tinkerbell- So a day before our ward Halloween party I had Daphney try on her costume. She hated the wings and cried and cried when I put them on her. Luckily Shane got home from work and talked her into thinking they were gangster like her turquoise shoes.   
ps. What mother in her right mind would let her daughter be Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell is a little self-centered punk; I found that out too late. 

Baby Dooley: Lost Boy- Can't wait to finally see him in just under 4 weeks now! Our neighbor just had a baby that was 9 lbs and 13 oz. She said it was a breeze and only took 4 pushes. Yikes, I am not asking for that easy of a time just not dying would be wonderful!

Taking pictures was again a struggle because we don't know anyone that we feel comfortable being stupid around and we don't want to ruin any potential friendships. But, Daphney was a lot of fun and has a funny fake laugh. You'll notice in one of the last pictures her and I are doing our "throw back" laugh. That one is my favorite laugh, because it is so freeing to just throw back your head and laugh. Another of my favorite pictures is one where she looks like a squirrel just threw an acorn at her head; you should be able to tell which one that is by her face. 

Peter Pan Movie Night!

What does a Fox say?

Thank you Jenny! We have now boosted their ratings by an additional million!

Life in IOWA

...In the perspective of a one year old!

1st Birthday

Daphney's birthday was a lot of fun for our family. I worked hard to make it perfect and it kind of flopped in parts on behalf of the fact that she is an out of control one-year old. For example, in my head the cake smash was a lot more contained. If you are to try it out a high chair is definitely recommended- forget cute pictures and childhood freedom. Secondly, I never realized how difficult it is to make a one year old sit still for pictures! Thirdly, don't have your child's birthday and your husband's birthday a day apart... too much work. PS... sorry Shane you did not get any decorations or even pictures this year. Hope you enjoy your presents at least. : D 

One of Daphney's favorite presents was her cell phone. She inherited her father's love for technology!

Funny Thing: The first Sunday we brought Daphney to church one of our 3 year old Sunbeam girls came running over proclaiming, "I am going to come over there and poke her eyeballs out." Daphney has recently loved pointing and poking every animals eyes. On skype she is always trying to poke out her cousin's eyes. Hopefully we can protect her brother till he gets old enough to defend himself.  : )

Daphney's Adventures

Our little girl is growing up so fast. She is smarter about how to not get hurt as much; consequently, she is also taking bigger risks and climbing higher and farther. She has also become a stuffed animal girl and it is so cute to see her snuggled up with her animals. She is beginning to understand instructions although she does not always obey them. : D The first word I think Daphney understood was baby. Daphney mouths bye bye when she waves, and says something that sounds like up when she wants you to pick her up.

This is Jenny's dog that will sadly have to stay when we move. Daphney will sure miss trying to carry it around.

Quilting

I am almost finished with Daphney's present for her first birthday! I designed this quilt and it is exciting to see the sketches become a reality. Thanks to Heidi's helpful teaching it is turning out so cute. I wanted it to have lots of texture and fun parts for Daphney to play with. Consequently, some of the eyes are buttons, and the teach are leather and are only sew at the top so that they can be played with. Each monster has its own fun aspect like fur or sequence. This has been so much fun, but I haven't decided whether to do another for the next one. So much work!   :)