Paige's Baby Dedication

For the 3rd time, we had the opportunity to stand in front of our church family and dedicate a child to the Lord.  It never gets old.  Erich and I are blessed to be a part of a church that supports, encourages, and builds into young families.  We don't take for granted the gift God has given us through our precious children and this time it was all about Paige. We pray that she will grow up seeing Christ in us and that she will choose to live a life fully devoted to Him.  It's hard for me to comprehend that the deep, intense, overwhelming love I feel for Paige is tiny and puny compared to the love God has for her.  I don't want to wish these early days away, but I'm looking forward to watching our baby become a girl, that girl become a young lady, and that young lady become a woman of God.  She is a miracle! We felt so loved by our families who all traveled up from out of town to attend the church service and celebrate with us afterwards.  It was a great day!

3 pretty girls getting ready to go to church

Paige looks a little cross eyed, but I had to include this photo since it's the only picture we got with Papa in it.  He had a horrible cold and was so sick, but he still made the drive up to support our family at church. Sadly, he had to leave to head back home right after the service and wasn't able to come back to the house to party with us. We are so thankful he made the effort to come when he wasn't feeling well, and even more thankful that he didn't share his germs with us!

Standing up front as a family to publicly declare our intentions to raise Paige in a Christ centered home and cover her in prayer.

Grandma, Grandpa, and Paige (looking very content in Grandma's arms)

Spencer, the oldest cousin in the family, holding the youngest cousin in the family with cute Oliver.

The chaos of trying to feed 8 kids lunch. It takes a lot of grown ups to make that happen.

The adults (minus Travis and Erich. Sorry guys!)

One of the more successful attempts at a family photo we've had.  It was a wonderful day spent with family and honoring Paige. She slept through most of it, but I choose to believe she felt the love. Erich and I sure did.

Giving Thanks

Erich had to work on Thanksgiving this year so the girls and I packed up and headed to Marysville for our first road trip with Paige in tow.  I was so excited to enjoy the holiday and introduce Paige to many extended family members that we don't see often enough.  Sadly, Avery came down with the stomach flu during the night (I'll spare you details of that. Sadly, Grandma and Grandpa know the details all too well. I'm indebted to them forever for handling the mess so I could handle the baby and the sick kid).  Instead of spending the day enjoying my mom's mashed potatoes surrounded by family, we instead woke up bright and early Thanksgiving morning and made the two hour drive home where we spent the rest of the day in isolation while Erich worked.  On his way home he stopped at Cracker Barrel and we enjoyed a take out Thanksgiving dinner in our pajamas at 9pm.  It wasn't what we envisioned and it wasn't our first choice, but it still turned out to be kind of special and fun.  Life is what you make of it.  There is so very much to be thankful for.

Paige's first Thanksgiving

Halloween Fun

Soon after Paige joined our family it was time to gear up for Halloween fun and festivities.  Our annual pumpkin carving party with the Croningers, Avery's preschool "costume parade", and a couple of trick or treating events filled up our schedule. Thankfully Erich was off on paternity leave and spent much of his time running Avery and Norah around to collect all their candy.

Born just a month apart, Maggie and Paige are the two newest additions to the Piland/Croninger clan

Once upon a time, two young dating couples got together to carve pumpkins.  8 years later there are 10 of us and the only pumpkin carving that took place was when we cut into the pumpkin pie for dessert.  With 6 kids under the age of 5 and 2 newborns, we decided the kids would have fun with or without the mess and chaos of pumpkins. We love the Croninger family so much and look forward to this tradition every year!

Norah wearing her cute little witch shirt waiting to cheer on Avery in the costume parade at preschool

Cutie Avery living it up as Tinkerbell

The preschool class had a few songs and poems to perform for their audience. Avery did a great job!

Erich's co-worker, katie, knitted an adorable candy corn costume for Paige. Sadly, we didn't get a great picture of her wearing it but she looked good enough to eat!

Tinkerbell, Kitty Cat, and Candy Corn

Erich and the big girls braved a cold rainy day to go to downtown Perrysburg's trick or treat event that the local businesses host for the toddler/preschool crowd.

The girls did great until the end when they had had enough of the rain and were ready to go home

Norah's favorite book for months was "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake". We read it over and over and over again until every member of the house had it memorized.  She was not just any cat for Halloween, she was the cat from her favorite book... complete with her own (toy) cupcake.  She was proud!

While Daddy, Avery, and Norah braved the freezing cold weather to trick or treat in our neighborhood, Paige and I bundled up and stayed home to pass out candy.  I have a photo just like this from the Halloween after Norah was born.  I love wearing my babies in the wrap.

Getting ready to go collect some candy. They came home with a huge loot!

Welcome Home, Paige!

After 3 nights in the hospital (one spent in labor, the other two enjoying baby Paige), we were ready to get home to our girls and start life as a family of 5.  Erich and I joked that being in the hospital felt a little bit like staying in a bed and breakfast... except for the uncomfortable beds, baby needing 24 hour attention, and pain of recovery... okay, so maybe not quite like a bed and breakfast.  I think what we meant by that was that it was kind of nice to be forced to take a break from life's busyness, stay put in one room, and relax.  I especially soaked up those moments with Paige, knowing that I would never get such concentrated time to just focus on her, my youngest baby, again.  Once we returned home to the circus of 3 young kids, work, dishes, laundry, preschool, etc, I knew Paige would have to go along for the ride and fit into our busy routine.  I also knew that there would be two other little "mommies" at home vying for her attention.  So Erich and I opted to stay the extra night in the hospital that was offered to us and I held that little girl every second I could.  By the time Sunday rolled around, I was as refreshed as you can be with a newborn and ready to head home.

When we came to the hospital on Thursday night it was unseasonably warm for October. Also, we were in a huge hurry and were a little frazzled.  When it came time to leave on Sunday we found out that a cold front had come through and it was now freezing cold.  That is when I realized that we had not worn coats and I hadn't packed any sort of blanket or anything that could keep Paige warm on the ride home.  You would think by the 3rd time around I would have been a little more prepared. Oops.  Thankfully the hospital staff kindly let us take a blanket home to cover her up.

Welcome Home Paige!

Avery and Norah were so excited to have Paige home. It took Norah a long time to call her by her name. For a while she would just point at her and say "That's a baby!"

Snuggling sisters

Our first night home from the hospital with each of our children has been celebrated with a meal of sloppy joe's and homemade mac&cheese. I'm not sure how we landed on that particular meal, but it has become tradition and I love it.

Paige's first bath. She has a lot of hair to wash!

Grandma has graciously come and stayed with us for a few days after each of our children were born to help.  She is always valued and appreciated, but probably never more than in the days after we brought Paige home.  I was tired, hormonal, recovering, and focusing all my efforts on Paige.  Erich was doing a fantastic job with the older two girls, but it just wasn't the smoothest transition (Norah especially had a rough time adjusting to our "new normal") and we don't know what we would have done without my mom there to feed us, keep the girls entertained, and take care of all the details. She deep cleaned our house, dealt with many tears and tantrums, cooked our meals, and smiled the entire time. I also think it's possible she got less sleep than we did.  I wanted her to stay forever and cried for about 6 hours straight after she left.  Erich and I often look at each other in total awe of the ways our Kelley and Piland parents show us love and serve us with their actions, time, and gifts. It's hard to imagine right now, but someday it will be our turn to show that same love to our grown children and their families. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to do them justice, but we will try our best to follow in our parents' footsteps!

Avery and Norah showing off their big sister shirts, pumpkins, and their favorite baby

Paige and Momma

A visit from Aunt Nikki

Avery loves all things crafty and had fun with a paper doll set Nana and Papa brought her from their trip to Alaska

Norah thinks Paige is alright, but her first love will always be Baby Izzy. In this video Erich found her stuffing real food into Baby Izzy's mouth, trying to feed her dinner. 

Uncle Paul, Aunt Kristen, and the Kelley cousins came to visit and meet Paige. We always love time with them.

Uncle Paul and Will checking out Paige

Big cousin Katie taking a turn to hold Paige. She was a pro!

Paige, we have had so much fun having you home and introducing you to the world.  We praise God for you!

Happy Birthday, Middle Child

Even though we had already celebrated Norah's birthday in grand fashion and Norah was totally fine, having a great time with her grandparents, Erich and I just couldn't handle the fact that it was her real birthday and we were at the hospital, giving every ounce of our attention to Paige, and not doing something for her birthday. So Erich snuck away from the hospital for a couple of hours and picked Norah up for a daddy daughter date. They went to a local market for her to pick out her very own pumpkin and then to a little bakery for a birthday treat.  Norah was a little out of sorts from being up late the night before and all the excitement of a new baby sister and her grandparents visiting, but she and Daddy both enjoyed a little time away, just the two of them.

Norah had recently been traumatized by a ride through the car wash (She's not a fan) and for a while after that every time we put her in the car she'd say "I don't want to go to the car wash".  Thankfully she is past that now :)

Looking at all her pumpkin options. She ended up choosing a little one that Cinderella painted on it. Princesses always prevail in the Piland home.

Daddy daughter date.  Happy Birthday to our middle child.  We will make sure you are never overlooked!

Paige Ruth Piland

Whew. Tears are already forming and I haven't even started writing yet.  Beautiful, perfect, baby Paige arrived in the wee morning hours of October 18th, 2013.  October 18th... does that date sound familiar?  Norah and Paige shared the same due date (Oct 12), both decided they weren't in any hurry, and both arrived 6 days late... on the same day.  They now share a birthday, 2 years apart.  God pays attention to the details. We couldn't have planned it that way if we tried! At first I was disappointed that they don't each have their own special day all to themselves, but the idea has grown on me... they have something even more special now. Not many siblings can say they share a birthday. We'll make the most of it and have fun with it over the years. Instead, now I find myself worrying that Avery will feel left out because she doesn't share a birthday... ugh! I need to just stop worrying. (In the words of Pete the Cat, our favorite literary feline, "It's all good")

So, Paige's story... I was 6 days overdue and had been feeling some mild, uncomfortable, contractions off and on for a couple of days, but nothing that made me think she was coming any time soon. It was a Thursday and at a doctor's appointment that morning my doctor encouraged me to set an induction date for the following Monday, but said she thought she'd be seeing me over the weekend.  I did not want to get induced, so I prayed with all my might that God would bring that baby SOON ("but please God, just not tomorrow since that's Norah's birthday. Today would be fine, Saturday would be fine. Just not tomorrow please? Okbye")  We went about the day as usual. Erich was off work and went to meet a friend for coffee about 20 minutes away. Around 4pm I texted Erich and said, "I just had a contraction that brought me to my knees. No need to rush home, just thought I'd let you know".  He immediately called and said he was going to leave the coffee shop, run into the store to buy Halloween candy (priorities?), and would be home soon.  I didn't really think I was in labor, but I was relieved he was coming home.  About 10 minutes later when another one hit, and a few minutes later after that... well then I believed I was in labor.  My texts to Erich became more urgent.  A little while later he called and broke the news to me... he was stuck in a traffic jam on the highway. Completely stopped, car in park, not moving anywhere any time soon.  He was in panic mode. I was in pain.  Norah had no idea what was going on. Avery was being my little labor coach.  Daddy had explained to her several days earlier that when it was time for the baby to come out she might see mommy hurting, that it was normal and it was a good thing, so she wouldn't be scared if I started having contractions when he wasn't home. Smart man! Avery was fully prepared to take on this challenge and delighted in "taking care of me".  She rubbed my back through contractions, helped me walk up the stairs, brought me water... I'm still in awe of our little 4 year old nurse.  Following in Daddy's footsteps! The next few hours are a bit of a blur. I know that I baked bread with the girls (apparently nesting doesn't kick in for me until I'm in full blown labor), put them to bed, and took a shower... stopping every 3 to 5 minutes to breathe through a contraction.  Meanwhile, Erich was in his car calling and texting all of his friends (he's a guy who needs to talk it out) and imagining me at home having a baby on the living room floor.  He finally decided that he couldn't sit still any longer and drove over the highway median.  Long story short, because of this huge traffic jam backing up all the other streets in town the 20 minute drive took him over 3 hours.  He got home around 7:30 pm, called my parents who started the 2 hour drive to our house to take care of the girls, and called a neighbor to come babysit until they could get here.  He packed a bag, we said goodbye to the girls (and changed a last minute diaper), and off we went! I will mention that Erich hadn't had anything to eat since lunch and it was now 8pm. Erich without food in his belly is not a good thing.  What do you know, he had Halloween candy in the car from that stop at the store. Ha! God's provision in the form of mini snickers bars. We got to the hospital around 9pm, I got my epidural around 11:30pm (I'll spare you the details of that horrible story, but it didn't go smoothly. I was still thankful to have it!) and with just a couple of pushes Paith Ruth Piland was born at 12:58am on October 18th.  Between Erich not being able to get home while I was in labor and the epidural issues, it wasn't a boring delivery story, but it was an exciting one!  Paige weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and was 21 and 1/2 inches long. She had a full head of dark, dark brown hair and she had nursing mastered in about 5 seconds flat.  She is a great eater, great sleeper, super smiley, content little baby.  She has made our lives better and our family complete.  We love her so much!

Erich took a minute to do a quick interview with Avery and Norah before we took off for the hospital. You can hear the urgency in his voice. It cracks me up.

A quick disclaimer - With Avery and Norah I went to the hospital for scheduled inductions which means I was showered, had my hair done, and make up on in all of my labor/post delivery photos with them.  Paige came without warning so I grabbed a quick shower and showed up at the hospital with wet hair and no make up.  The photos aren't quite as flattering. I don't care.

The last photo of Paige on the inside

The first photo of Paige on the outside.

The best husband, father, labor coach there ever was.

If you live in the Toledo area and Dr Vannuyen is not your OB, I suggest you switch. I couldn't imagine anyone better to see me through pregnancy and deliver my babies.

Daddy and his baby girl

Paige right after birth, getting checked out. She was perfectly healthy (and very pink!)

That dark hair is such a contrast to her redheaded sisters.  She's not a conformist.

Birthday buddies

These 4 people have my heart

Grandma and Grandpa with their 9th grandchild

Nana and Papa soaking up some cuddles

Baby yawns!

Our first photo as a family of 5.  Sometimes I can't believe the blessings I've been given in this life.

They Say It's Your Birthday

With baby #3 being due just 6 days before Norah's 2nd birthday, we decided to celebrate her big day a little early so there was no risk of our sweet middle child getting overlooked.  She doesn't know the difference... at this age if we tell her it's her birthday, she believes it's her birthday!  In September we invited Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, and Aunt Nikki to come up to Perrysburg for a fun morning of picking apples at MacQueen's Orchard followed by lunch, presents, and cake back at our house.  Norah was beyond excited to have so much attention from all of her favorite people and she loved picking apples.

Norah means "shining light"... she definitely makes our world a little brighter!

One of our last family photos with Paige still on the inside.

Grandma and Norah picking apples

Aunt Nikki loving up her nieces

Nana, Papa, and the girls

Grandpa and the birthday girl

Daddy and Avery

Norah's modeling career might be going to her head.  She ripped the wrapping paper off of the box, pointed at the little girl in the picture, and said, "Norah!".  Apparently she now believes that she is on every toy box.

Behold "Baby Izzy".  Norah is babydoll obsessed and her first doll, Baby Izzy, is her constant companion and most treasured possession.

Aunt Nikki did it again!  Her adorable (and gigantic) apple shaped cupcakes were a huge hit!

Avery is a girl after my own heart... she eats the frosting and leaves the cake.  

Norah Elizabeth, you are a treasure!  Two years with you has flown by too fast.  You are a cuddle bug, a bookworm, an entertainer, and a handful.  You have endless energy, but if anyone will sit with you to read books, you snuggle right in.  You have an incredibly developed sense of humor and impeccable comedic timing for a toddler.  Thanks to you, we have had to purchase extra baby gates, install a lock on the toilet, and keep the bedroom doors locked at all times (although that quickly became pointless when you figured out how to unlock them).  You are into everything and aren't easily deterred when you are on a mission.  You keep us laughing all day long. You are the least picky child I know when it comes to food. You happily eat anything we serve you and truly seem to enjoy your meal. You are hard to discipline because you are so darn cute.  When you sense you've done something you shouldn't have, you put yourself in "time out" and get quite a kick out of it. Strangers stop us in public to comment on your curly red hair and say how beautiful you are.  You are smart.  When we say it's time to pray you stop whatever you are doing and fold your hands.  When it's "Bible Time" before bed you and your sister run to see who can get to the Bible first.  I'm pretty sure you believe that Baby Izzy is a real baby.  You are a joy and a blessing. We love you, Buttercup!