Introducing Miss Madison Michelle Bader

As most of you know, our little diva decided to come a week early and be her brother's surprise birthday gift... or to steal his thunder!! :) Not sure if everyone knows, but I am born on my grandfather's birthday and Mason was born on my dad's (his grandfather's) birthday. Now with Miss Maddie making her grand entrance on September 20th, I guess that is a lucky date in our family!!

Mason seems to be extremely excited that they share the same birthday and that she looks just like him when he was a baby, but we will have to see if he feels the same way next year when we are celebrating 2 birthdays. We will have to come up with something so that they each have their own "special" day! He told me today as they were leaving for the beach, "Mom, if Madison gets upset and starts to cry, just rock her swing a little bit and she will stop!! " He is such a big helper!!

Hmm, as for Jax... he is definitely warming up to her. At first, he was curious about "baby" and would seem interested for a minute or two, but would go along doing his own thing. Now, he talks about baby's pacie (which is funny b/c he call his "my P!"), baby crying, where's baby, and gives her kisses. We are definitely progressing, however he has acted out a bit just being a little mischievous!! Let's see...filled the tub up and decided he wanted a bath in the middle of the day. My mom and brother thought he does this all of the time, but NOPE! This was a first! Matt found him stripped naked, in the tub w/ the water running! He also decided to get into Mason's football eye paint and color ALL OVER HIS ENTIRE BODY... in his ears, all over his legs, shirt, on his duck, the sheets and comforter! I couldn't figure out what it was and was searching the bed to find it (he was still asleep during all of this) and finally start thinking, "hmm, this feels oily like Mason's football paint!" So I go over to Mason's dresser and look into the ceramic heart he made that he keeps it in, notice the heart is greasy and has black on it, open it up and the little stinker was sneaky enough to put the EMPTY stick back where he found it!! Like he wouldn't get caught!! :) Dave got a video of when he woke up and it's pretty hilarious!!

Well, a summary of her arrival... I started having contractions on Sunday, Sept 19th around 11am and was cleaning up around the house. I started keeping track of them b/c they became pretty regular. They were abt 9-13 minutes apart and never closer so I didn't think anything of it. I had days before where I had the contractions and then they would eventually stop later in the day. Plus, these weren't too bad and I only had to stop for a few seconds to let the worse part pass. So this pretty much went on ALL DAY and into the NIGHT! We eventually called my doctor in which he said I could come to the hospital at any time to be checked, but if I was dilated to a certain point then they would send me home. So we waited it out longer.

By the evening, I finally realized OK, this baby will be born on Mason's birthday b/c there is no way I can continue having these contractions for another whole day! Even though they were spread out, they hurt like CRAP!! Dave being the supportive husband keeps asking me, "Do you want to go in? I think we need to go in to at least get you check out!" Of course, I think I can at least make it through the night, but NOPE! By 3am I was having strong contractions that were lasting longer. We called our neighbor, Jen, who came down to stay w/ the boys and headed out to the hospital. With all of that pain, I was only dilated 2 1/2 cm!!!! I thought for sure at least a 3 or 4, but NOPE! We walked the halls a bit and made it to a 3 and after speaking w/ my doctor, the nurse said I was staying! Whoo- hoo! There is no way I could go back home and continue w/ these contractions.

We got moved to our "official"room and prepped to stay. She asked if I wanted my epidural now and since I was only a 3 I didn't want to get it JUST YET b/c I thought it would slow the process down. She said she'd start the pitocin and then we could see from there. WELL THAT DIDN'T LAST! My doctor came in as I was having a BIG ONE and then tells me, "Well with the pitocin it will get to be 8-10 times worse than that!!!" I looked at the nurse and said, "OK, I'LL TAKE THE EPIDURAL NOW!!" He was in the room in the next 10 minutes starting the process. As some of you know, this part is my WORST FEAR even more than contractions or any other part of labor. With the boys, they had a rough time getting it in b/c I have tough back tissue and "my back is not meant for an epidural" as I was told so they have to "poke" a few times. Gives me the chills just thinking about it!! The nurse told him all of this and he said it's all about positioning! YEAH RIGHT, WHATEVER, but I'll do what you say! OMG, he was totally right! I felt a little vibration and as I'm waiting for the BIG ONE the nurse says, "Guess what, you're finished!!" I started to cry b/c I was SOOOOO HAPPY!! We wait a bit, feel the contraction, wait some more, still feeling them. He comes back in a few times and give me the direct shot through the line, comes back and ups my dose. For an hour and a half I continue to feel everything. They said they will give it another 20 minutes and if it doesn't get better, then they will have to take it out and redo it!!! AAAAHHHHHH, DID I SPEAK TO SOON ABOUT HOW WONDERFUL HE WAS??!! Luckily, it starts working on one side and he realizes it's probably too far down and tilted to one side so he just has to pull it out a bit. OK, not so bad, I will take that! That did it, so from then on I was TOTALLY numb until WELL after Madison was born! I think all of those extra doses all took at once by the time he got it all figured out b/c I felt like a puppet from the waist down every time they moved me! I could see them flinging my legs around, but couldn't feel a thing!

So we slept for a bit, nurse came in at about 11:30am and said "OH your water broke on it's own at some point and you are 10 cm!! We will probably start pushing within the next hour!" Uh-Oh, Dave was out walking the halls and getting some snacks and my parents were still en route from the Grand Canyon! Dave gets back and hears the news while I'm telling my parents to hurry up! Luckily they were only 20min away at this point! Long story short, after 3-4 contractions of pushing and my mom making it right at the last contraction, Madison Michelle Bader made her grand entrance into the world at 12:21pm!! She weighed 6lb 15oz and 19 inches long. She's a cutie and has already changed our lives in just a few days!!

Her little piggies!!

All 5 toes!!

Dave Bader cannot deny this child! Look at those lips!!

Grandpop with his birthday gift!!

Ahh, a bath and now sleep! Finally!

Jax doesn't look too happy!

My boys... and girl! :)

Proud big brother holding his surprise birthday gift!!

Grammy with 2 of the soon to be 7 grandkids!

MMM, this finger tastes good!

One big, happy family! We are blessed!

Check out my skinny legs!

Yup, she's got him wrapped already!!

I hate this seat! Get me out of here!!

Proud big brother!

Little grin

It's tough trying to stay awake!

Precious!

Finally a picture fully awake!

Me and My Girl!!

LA County Fair

Here are some highlights from our trip to the LA County Fair! Perfect weather for it too, mid-70s! Sorry, they are in reverse order b/c of the way they uploaded!

Daddy comforting Jax! He was so upset b/c he was denied from the choo-choo train that he was able to sneak on earlier. He was a few inches under the 36inch mark. Poor little guy!

This one's for you , Papa!! Mason was so excited

b/c it 'bounced' like the dune buggy!

The big slide Mason did 3 times! It's a big accomplishment since last year he made it to the top and got too scared only to walk back down the steps!

Made it to the fair at 38 weeks!!

Flying High... Jax was able to sneak on a few rides!! :)

Really cool Merry-Go-Round! It was 2 levels!

The Jurassic Exhibit! Really neat!

Mason was a little nervous b/c they moved,

so he thought they were real!

Daddy and Mason enjoying some rest!

The first time on the Choo-Choo train before being denied later!

Grocery Shopping at Ralph's w/ the money earned from

"growing their food" and selling it for money!

Jaxon's harvest!!

Mason made out-$15 for all of his items!

Jax milking the cow!

Mason milking the cow!

Petting Zoo- Let's just say Jax didn't enjoy it

since they were eye-level with him!

Watching the magic show w/ Daddy!

Mommy and Jax at the Smokey the Bear "Wilderness Park"

Bader Boys Update

33 weeks Preggo!

My little bunny!

Swinging at the park!

1st day of Preschool

Jax was upset b/c he wants to carry the lunch box. I have to get him one too!

Well, the summer is over and we are back into "school-mode!!" Even though summer has technically ended, our weather has just recently started to warm up!! The end of August brought on the 100+ degree temps, but hopefully that will end here soon!

Mason is now in a 4-day pre-k program that he LOVES!! We had tears on the first day, but since then he doesn't even look back to say goodbye unless I plea for some attention before he runs in! We carpool w/ his buddy Riley, so that makes it a lot easier and funner. Plus, there are two male assistant teachers that play football w/ Mason when they go outside. That is probably the highlight of his day! One actually commented about him being in the NFL one day, so that has stuck in Mason's head! :) Of course, we've had to tell him that in order to play football in school, he has to get good grades to be on the team. Hopefully the connection b/n sports and school will remain once he actually starts school!! He also received the "good citizen's" award w/ a star on the wall for being a great helper in the classroom. From what I understand, not everyone gets it, so it was kind of a big deal. We were super excited about that! There is also a class pet (well actually 2, but they rotate). Two bunnies named Bandage and Hercules. I recently found out that we will taking one of them home over the weekend of Sept 16. I hope Zoe doesn't get too curious or that I don't happen to go into labor that specific weekend! I guess it doesn't matter either way b/c chaos is our life right now and will only continue for the next few year, right!

Jaxon is our little pistol! Every night Dave and I sit and laugh at something he did that day and ask, what happened to the "good child!!" Just last night, we completed the bedtime routine: read a book, sip of water and lights out. We will leave a book in his bed and he will "read" it for a bit on his own and eventually give in to go to sleep. He starts yelling "Night Dad, Night Mom, Night Jon (I'll explain in a bit)!" and continues on for a few minutes until we tell him enough and go to bed. Then, Dave decides to go check on him b/c we continue to hear occasional bangs on our wall (either his head or feet). He has ripped out all of the pop-up animals in his book and laid them out on his bed and is pointing at each, saying their name "Hippo, Lion, Monkey, Doggie..." w/ such excitement in his voice! Do you get upset b/c he ruined the book, do you laugh at what he's doing or do you just shake your head, pick up the pieces and say goodnight!! He is one-of-a-kind!! As for the "Jon" explanation... that is what he calls Mason!! I have NO IDEA! I think maybe he is hearing the SON in Mason and can't say the S so it comes out JON! It's pretty funny to hear b/c he will come up to me so upset saying "Jon, blah blah blah" tattling on Mason. I can normally make out the Jon and maybe 2 more words to get the gist of it! We correct him and show him how to say Ma-Son which he can say separately, but still says Jon. It's bad b/c I sometimes catch myself saying,"Jon" as well!

They are so much fun together at this age and we have really been lucky w/ how well they get along, most of the time! Mason is actually really nurturing to Jax and doesn't like seeing him upset. He will a lot of times give in to Jax, which is really surprising to me since he's the bigger one of the two. I guess that shows his maturity. Jax, of course, is in awe of Mason and wants to do exactly what he's doing which is scary for me sometimes. I can definitely see how Mason's imagination is developing, which definitely helps Jax as well. They build forts and camp out w/ their flashlights, play pirates looking for the bad guys, and even play mommy and baby. This one is pretty entertaining and cute b/c sometimes Jax is the mommy rubbing Mason's back as he sleeps and sooths him when he cries. Even though 95% of the day is chaotic, they are very entertaining and a blessing to us! I can normally hold it together until about 4-4:30pm and then I'm counting down the time when Dave comes home so we can tag-team them!! :) How are we going to tag-team 3 when we will be out numbered come Sept 25??!! I guess we will soon find out! If you see me and you notice gray hair, please don't comment! :)

Well, I guess our next update will be the announcement of our baby girl, Madison Michelle Bader (unless for some reason that name changes once we see her precious face)!!