Polka Dots

Turkey Day - Yummy!

This year we hosted Thanksgiving because we were not sure that we would want to be out and about. It was a very nice day. We did all the prep in the days before so we were really able to relax. It was wonderful to have all the family at our house - but I think I had the most fun cleaning the house with the Ricky in the front pack.

Check out my pinterest board for my Thanksgiving favories but the two BEST - a non-traditional ginger gravy and delicious stuffed mushrooms!

 

Source: flickr.com via Christine on Pinterest

Getting used to being a mom...

Taking care of Mom was under-rated! I have a wonderful family and husband but I didn't realize how slow I would be in the days following delivery.

Breastfeeding isn't as easy as it sounds...Everyone has different experiences and I was pretty relaxed about things. Nurses and Drs kept saying feed him when he is hungry probably 2-4 hours apart. After a few days he started to sleep quite a bit...but then my supply started to drop very quickly. I think I would have been better off to just feed him every 2 hours during the day even though he wasn't demanding it...he would have taken it. I ended up having to pump after every feed for two weeks to build up my supply. Lots of fun! Oh well! Live and learn.

I am usually pretty confident that I know what is "right" in most parts of ny like. Confident in my relationship with my hubby! Pretty confident at work (after 9 years I otta be!), but this whole baby thing - not so confident. I found myself feeling more unsure about myself than I ever have before. I didn't know if I should take advice or follow my gut or read a book! It was interesting. It wasn't too bad but it took about 2 months before I got my feet under me. 

Now I feel like I am rolling with it. It has started to humble me in ways nothing has before. I think I have learned not to have expectations and enjoy everything - including the bumps in the road. Blessing!

 

Happy Halloween!

Ricky's first Halloween came and went in true Grammier fashion...full of Star Wars fun!!! Before he had even arrived Dave had bought the Darth Vader costume. A size 0-6 months had to be significantly altered for our 6 week old.

We also got creative withour pumpkins...can you tell who that is?

It actually became quite a hilarious evening. At 6 weeks - I was just learning how to get the timing right of getting the baby getting in the bath and in bed while also getting dinner ready now that Dave was back to work. I had dinner ready early - I had made our favoirte grilled cheese and tomato soup. The soup was keeping warm on stove and the sandwiches were almost put together on the cutting board.

It was just about starting to get dark 5:30-ish and trick or treaters started coming to the house. Bermuda (the dog) has been pretty protective since the baby arrived so she is barking like crazy each time someone comes to the door. Baby in one arm and holding back the dog - didn't work!!! After the first few trick or treaters - I gave up! I put the candy on the front porch bench with a sign that said TAKE ONE :)!

I start putting Ricky down to bed and I hear some rustling in the kitchen. Just after I get him down I hear Dave pulling into the driveway. Bermuda jets out the doggie door to greet him. She is facisnated by all the kids on the street and runs right out of the yard. Dave sucessfully navigates getting in our driveway wihtout hitting any of the kids on the sidewalk and manages to intercept the dog too.

After Dave get's in the house and settled down. I say - I have dinner ready in the kitchen!!! He say's what did you make? I walk into the kitchen where he is and see that there is no longer any sandwiches on counter...they have mysteriously disappeared...I suspect into the tummy of Bermuda!!!

We had so much fun.I can't even imagine what this will be like when Ricky actually knows what is going on.

A bittersweet January

January 2011 was a pretty pivotal month in our lives. In a matter of a few weeks we found out we were going to be blessed with a baby and Dave's father passed away.

There really is no way to explain the feelings we experienced over the spand of 3 weeks. As I sat on the couch just after finding out were were going to have a baby I remember having this feeling that life really could not get any better. We were surrounded by the peope we loved and now we were going to be starting a new phase in our lives. I cherished that moment...

On a warm Sunday afternoon - January 23rd 2011- things changed forever. We were planning to have the family over for dinner and let them know we were having a baby! Lori had called earlier in the day to say Rick wasn't feeling well so they were going to lay low. Around 4 that afternoon we got a call that they were headed to the hospital and by the time we made it there he had passed away...So quickly the bliss of that perfect feeling was taken from us.  I can't speak for my husband because the pain he feels is different and deeper. But I am not sure why I thought it could never happen to us. Our parents are such an important part of our lives and we take for granted that they will be with us forever. To say Rick was an amazing father is a giant understatement. He raised some of the most wonderful children into awesome adults! He had kids inthe house for the last 33 years of his life! He was never the loudest in the room but his impact was greater than anyone elses. I will miss Rick everyday but I KNOW he is actually always with us.

On September 17, 2011 we were blessed with a perfect little man - Richard William Grammier - in honor of both of his grandfathers. Ricky has brought so much joy to us already - even after only a month! As our family grows and changes I can only hope to cherish each moment and memory for what it is. Life is so fragile and precious. 

On the shelf in Ricky's room sits a photo of his grandfather Rick. We will tell many stories and know know he is with us everyday.

 

Uncle Dan-tastic's Wedding

Dave's brother got married just 4 weeks after Ricky was born. Yes - he has been dubbed Uncle Dan-tastic! It was a beautiful day. My parents and brother were in town for the event as well. We had a wonderful time with everyone. Thanks to Dan and Mel for throwing such a fun event!

I ended up with a clogged milk duct late in the evening at the wedding. Which was NOOO fun! :) Thank goodness Mom and Dad were there to help me manage Ricky so that Dave could stay and enjoy the rest of the party. They headed back to Inn where were staying with Ricky and I. It came on so fast - was incredibly painful and also gave me the chills. Mom kept me laughing - imagine Grandma Eileen after a few glasses of wine changing Ricky's diaper. Tips for avoiding a clogged milk duct: Don't slow down pumping really quickly! Make the baby keep nursing frequently even when you are traveling/at an event! Change your breast pads often! If you do get one - keep the baby on the breast as much as you can, hot bath/shower, advil. By the next morning I was already feeling 100 times better. It passed very quickly but it was hectic while it lasted.

The story of Ricky's arrival...it is kinda funny!

At my 36 week check up the doctor said things looked like they were really progressing and if my body kept going Ricky would come early. He was in position and my you know what was soft and ready to go!

Then at 37 wks - no change...

Then 38 wks no change...but I made this my last week of work! Yeah!!!

Then 39 wks no change...

Then 40 wks ...Y doctor actually said "I think he went further up inside of you!" I had to laugh because I was still feeling good. I did all the things you read about doing...lots of loving your husband (whoo hooo!), lots of walking, spicy food, this salad dressing that is supposed to work...etc...

Sept 15th -

 As the days went buy and I had no signs of labor I was starting to get a little nervous. The  doctor talked to me about induction and we were going to book one for late in my 41st week - but then just 2 days past my due date after a LONG walk and a hot shower...I felt something kind of funny. It was late in the afternoon so I laid down in bed and turned on the TV. It was the evening news so every time I had that funny tight feeling I looked at the time on the TV...sure enough it was about ever 6-7 minutes. Wow am I really having contractions...??? Not sure why I was so surprised but I was really EXCITED!!! Then Dave pulled in the garage. Before he could even get in the house I was shouting out the window "I think it is starting!" He also seemed a little surprised - "Really???" Then he said, "I have a few things for work I should finish up if this is going to happen." At this point I downloaded an app on my iphone to track the start and stop time of the contractions because I thought that seemed like a good idea.

After an hour or so I was looking for things to pass the time and remembered that I had wanted to make zucchini bread to take to the nurses in the labor and delivery. I figured those nurses should be well fed if they are going to help me through this and a little buttering up might help me when I really need it :-) So Dave, Bermuda and I walk to the grocery store to get some zucchini. Dave waited outside while I ran in (without a cart). I decided that I also wanted some yogurt and a few other things. So now my hands are full as a pretty strong contraction approaches as I am walking up to the check out counter. I try to hold on to everything but a few of the yogurts bite the dust. A nice man picks them up for me while I grit my teeth and breathe deeply. I didn't want him to know I was in labor and freak out  - so I tried to put on a smile and get out of there as quick as possible.

After the walk home I get into baking - after about 30 minutes I start to get cranky. Dave was still working a little and so I walk into the office giving him a piece of my mind about how he should be helping me bake. Then I realize the contractions were closer and more intense. Dave decided he should finish the bread...

Sept 16th -

As Sept 15th turned to Sept 16th I can't sleep so I call my Dr to let her know how things are going. She said she would let the hospital know that they might see me but I should stay home as long as I could or until my water broke. I also called my Mom and Dad in Northern CA to let them know so they could make their way down to LA. Then Dave tried to catch some ZZZ's. The contractions were still bear-able but I was too excited to sleep. I showered - then took a bath - then tried to relax - then read my book. For most of the night I was just using a cleansing breath and basic breathing to get through each contraction but then by about 3am I started using some he he he - whoo's. (see Reflecting on Pregancy post for our hilarious prep). Now it had been 12 hours of contracts about 5 minutes apart so I woke Dave around 4am and suggested we go into the hospital to get checked out.

I was still getting through each contraction ok but I was starting to get pretty tired...keeping track all along on my cool little iPhone app...oh yeah and I also texted my Mom to let her know we were headed to the hospital.

The hospital we went to is pretty small and relaxed (and has great 80's wallpaper you will see in the pics below) - so they got me checked in quick and did an exam - just to report baby's heartbeat was fine and I was having consistent contractions every 5 minutes but I was only 1 cm dilated. Well - there is a long way to go until a 10! We decided we would go home. I left a message for my Mom letting her know we were headed home at around 7am.

Hilarous Side Bar: When my Mom and Dad landed and got their rental car - they went directly to the hospital rather than listening to their phone messages. They got to the hospital about 9am and the nurse at the reception desk asked who they were there for - and when they said Christine Grammier - she proceeded to tell them Christine did a GREAT JOB and it was a very fast delivery AND the baby was big and healthy! My mom was in shock. She said "that can't be" - she was only at a 1. But the nurse directed them to a room number - then a different nurse came running down the hall saying - "I think you are looking for someone else. We sent her home. Don't bother her she needs to sleep!" We later found out that there was another Christine who delivered earlier that day! :-)

Back to the story - when the nurses send me home they say - PLEASE TRY TO SLEEP! So I tried but had no success. Dave got another hour or so. Since I couldn't sleep I decided it was time to get thing moving. I did stretches that should help move him along. Then Dave and I did a long walk around the block stopping to breathe through each contraction. I am trying to start and stop the timer on my fancy contracton app each time, but that gets too hard to so I make Dave do it. After each contraction I am asking...Are they closer????? Just hoping that the contractions are getting closer together but NOPE! Still 5 minutes - at this point I have been having contractions 5 minutes apart for almost a day!!!!  I start texting my girlfriends with some updates on my progress - pointing out that as we are going on 24 hours it is getting a bit nutz.

At home Dave is coaching me through each contraction very well. Then he gets a wild idea to take care of a few things around the house and steps away from me for a few minutes. As the next contraction approaches I am hollering thorugh the house for him to find my phone and start the timer on the app while trying to breathe through it. He can't find the phone and then I proceed to "scold" him for walking away from me...Looking back it this - we laugh now!

I finally was so tired I sleep - more like pass out. All I remember is a haze of growning and rolling around. I think I did this for about an hour before I just couldn't take it anymore. I stood up feeling like a fussy 3 year old...Starting crying on Dave's shoulder as a contraction began and then I proceeded to pee all over the floor. Now - I really felt like a 3 year old!!! I showered while Dave cleaned and we decided to call my doctor back and ask for advice. She met us at the hospital about an hour later. The exam showed that I was at a 4! After 24 hours of contractions five minutes apart I was at a 4...Ladies and gentleman  you do the math! It would have taken me another 2 days to get this baby out at this pace. So the doctor gave me a couple of options: Do nothing and keep going for it, epidural, break water or epidural & break water...We opted to have the epidural so I could rest. This was about 6pm.

It's the "I love EPIDURAL!!!" face

This felt like a little piece of heaven. No I couldn't feel the contractions at all any more and after 24 hours of feeling them this was blissful. Dave asked me if I would marry the man who made the epidural if he walked in - I said OF COURSE NOT, but I would give him all our money!!! :) Then about an hour later I hadn't made much progress but so she broke my water. Again not much progress over the next couple of hours - so they gave me a little pitocin at about 9pm. This kicked things into action and by 11 I was completely dilated and Ricky had dropped into position so I was ready to push! Strange that I could feel these contractions again so I would know when and how to push...I won't go into detail but amazing.

Another sidebar: Most of your probably know I have wonderful family support. I have an awesome mom and 2 wonderful mother-in-laws...plus a very supportive Dad. The 4 of them waited patiently in the very small waiting room from about 5pm on. My Dad went out to get food and coffee to escape the hours of labor stories they each told about their various deliveries. Then at one point he said: "I'm going to the chapel downstairs." To which my mom responds, "why are you going there?" Dad calmly replies, "because they have some long benches I can sleep on." I thought this was hilarious!!! Oh and as things got moving along the Mom's found a window they could peak through into our room. They couldn't see me but the nurses were giving them reports via hand signals on how far dilated I was and the progress as I pushed. Captured on film:

September 17th: Just after midnight Ricky arrives. They placed him on my chest and Dave cut the umbilical cord. At fist he looked blue and slimy but in the matter of a few seconds he was whimpering and looked like our little boy!!! I couldn't believe the overwhelming rush of emotions we were feeling. He was beautiful and perfect. Tired, excited, relieved, joy, peace,...

By the time we settled into our room it was 2am and I had been awake for about 45 hours. The nurses tried to explain something to me about stiches - but I could not comprehend anyting at this point!!! "Save it for the morning!" - I said. We all drifted off to sleep as a family...(well almost! Dave had a very uncomfortable bed).

My little man...

Reflecting on the Pregnancy!

Alright - I am catching up on blogging - I will get there soon. Wrote this post back in September...

I really enjoyed being pregnant. I feel very lucky because sooo many women shared stories with me of terrible morning sickness or water retention. God bless all of you! Dave and I tried to enjoy the time as our months of "only two" dwindiled.

Dave was such a good sport and went to both a "childcare prep" series of classes and lamaze. I have read several different books through the pregnancy. My nightly ritual involves a long hot bath (as far as I can tell the hot bath's didn't harm Ricky in the slightest) in which I read out excerpts from the books I think are important to Dave reading his (non preganancy related) book in the other room. This has become an ongoing joke becasue he never gets through more than a few pages of his own book before I am reading out some silly comment from the pregancy book about gas or hemrroids...I find it hilarious - him not so much!

As we near the end I really love this book - Birthing From Within. My aunt gave it to me and it has been helpful in eliminating the fear of trying to do this as naturally as possible. This book includes tips for practicing pain management such as holding ice cubes to simulate a contractions while you practice your breathing techniques. We added this to part of our nighttime ritual... I hold the ice cubes (while in the bath tub) and Dave times the contractions and coaches me breathing. He-he-he-whoooooo!!! A fly on the wall in our house would have some good stories to tell. Hope all the prep helps!

Overall we kept the year of 2011 pretty low key staying close to home. We ate out at lots of good local restaurants and had visitors come to us. Lots of visits to the Dr towatch Ricky grow! I found it so very amazing how much they could see. At one point we saw his little wisps of hair!

Family and Friends spolied us with showers and gifts! TWICE! Ricky is such a lucky boy!

Lea and Paul made a visit from NYC to play in LA. We got to act like tourists in our own city - The Getty, Hollywood TMZ tour, Dresden Room, Lunch at the Ivy, lots of laughs!

 

(Whatever it was we were debating here - I am sure I was right!)

Sarah, a dear friend of mine go married (in a beautiful ittle celebration). I got to see my wonderful girly-friends! We even had some fun at the beach the day after.

 

(Yes, they dug my belly a hole)

I had lots of fun putting together a nursery that was ready for his arrival!

  

  

Final days...Having way too much fun! For some reason as the months have gone by I have started to have no control over my laughter. Dave loves it because he says I usually don't laugh at his jokes enough. On almost a daily basis now I end up with one of those laughting fits where you laugh so hard you are crying and you think you are about to peee all over yourself. It has reminded me how important a true outta control laugh really is.

I am getting a little anxious now that it is very near the end - ready to have the baby and wanting to avoid an induction...So we are trying EVERYTHING to get him moving. Even went so far as to reserach this - a labor inducing salad...going to try to go to lunch there this next week!

 

2010 Year In Review

Let's see if I can re-cap 2010 in a few paragraphs :-) It was a busy one. You might say we were trying to fit a lot in before we got a little more tied down. Not sure this will be soo fun to read but I have to get it documented so I don't forget!!!!

Fun trip to Vegas with Family in March - just to get some sun! It's always HOT in Vegas. Girls came to visit in April! We missed Kerri and Melinda is just barely preg-o!

Trips to Nor Cal for baby showers - Kerri and Melinda two of my best-ies from growing up had babies! This must be a sign that life is about to change. TJ and Beckett are two of the most adorable little gentlemen! I follow along via blogs and facebook to keep up with them. Couldnt find any pics of Kerri's shower ;) but here is Melinda's!

More than I bargained for - I opened an office in LA. When we moved to CA the goal was to slow down at work. I would be remote so I assumed that I would slow down...the reverse happened. I got to focus on a client here in LA and we won a bunch of business. That meant that the company I work for wanted to open an office here...the idea spawned in February, by April I was looking for office space and I think we opened the doors in May.

Memorial Day in Florida with our Army Friends - was a blast! We are going to have to make this a tradition!

 

 

SOUTH AFRICA for World Cup and wrapping up the trip with stay in Rome, Italy - This 3 week getaway was an amazing adventure. We saw so much and enjoyed each other everyday. We made some great memories. Everyone should go on a safari in their life and stay at this very special hotel in Rome. Special Tip - That hotel is a Waldorf which is part of the Hilton family and if you are a hilton honors member and can save enough points you can stay for FREE!

 

 

Random 3-day trip to Prauge for work - Mandarin Oriental and First Class Round Trip - Not usually how I get to travel but totally spoiled me on flying coach in the future.

Thanksgiving in NorCal again...brisk fall mornings in Tomales are a sweet reminder of growing up. We so enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

ALOHA!!! Everyone should try a Christmas in Hawaii! When I joined the Grammier family I didn't really understand the tradition of going away for some holidays...but now I GET IT! This two weeks stay on the Big Island was such a wonderful way to enjoy the holiday. The temperature was perfect and there was none of the hustle and bustle stress that comes with Christmas so many times. After a very busy year...we might have had some "dreams" of adding to the Grammier family while on this vacation.

In between all of that we checked out the local scene a litte: La Brea Tar Pits, spent an afternoon at the Griffith Observatory, visited the Getty Villa and Getty Center.

Whew - I'm outta breath! When I take the time to reflect like this I realize how lucky we are. We really have been able to enjoy life as a couple...and are ready for the new adventures of 2011.

A post I wrote and never finished - 2009 A Year in Review

This post was mostly written on Jan 3rd 2009!

I know I have been lagging on the blog for most of 2009 (and as you will see 2010 and most of 2011). As I have mentioned before blogging was a type of therapy for me while Dave was gone. Now it has changed a little bit. Now it is more about documenting our path to share with those who we can't be with everyday. Here is how 2009 ended for us...

Hanging with the in-laws while we transitioned...Yes! I didn't think we would ever move back in with the parents but it was an amazing time. We lived with Dave's Dad and Stepmom Lori from March-November. We had many long dinners just talking about our days. We enjoyed Friday afternoon's around the pool and trips to Sporty's (the local dive bar) to celebrate the end of the week. We watched many movies together with the fire crackling and the dogs cozied up next to it.

Getting married again...We had an amazing celebration to renew our vows in my hometown - Tomales, CA. Our original wedding was very special to us but only included our immediate families. We were married between two deployments that were only about 8 months apart so we didn't have time to do it up "right" the first time. We are still waiting on the photos from this event but that is a whole different story...

Trips to visit friends...With all our freedom we had some great trips in 2009. We made it to Seattle to visit Jess and Blake where Jenn and Brent (who I often refer to as Jent and Brenn) joined us for the 22nd Infantry reunion. Too many work trips to NYC has the main benefit of getting to see Lea and Paul!

Buying the house...Pasadena here we come! After a few weeks of searching we became HOMEOWNERS! This process taught us a lot and we are very happy in our new home!

Thanksgiving up North...We spent a few days back in Tomales for Thanksgiving. This year included Dave's first Duck Hunt with the Jensen Family.

Christmas in SoCal...Our first Christmas in our new home! The Dave and Christine Christmas Tradition is lobster on Christmas Eve to celebrate the night we were engaged in 2006. It was delicious.

We were blessed in 2009 and now have 2010 underway! Sure to be full of lots of do it yourself projects in the house. Travels to South Africa for World Cup! And last but not least getting to know LA.