Growing up at El Pueblito

I love family traditions! My family was (and is still) big on traditions. Matt's family not so much. But we have enjoyed creating Thomson family traditions together. Just about every Thursday night we head downtown to El Pueblito for the best Mexican food! I love Mexican food! We order "Number 17, all chicken with a Coke". I love the staff there. They are so friendly. We arrive and they ask "Same?" We knod and our order is out before we can finish a basket of chips. They have been watching Reese grow. They were excited the first time she used a highchair there. They come by to chat and watch her make a mess of her food. There is something so comforting about a smaller town. I love Gig Harbor.

Fading Fears, increasing joy

When I asked my husband what his greatest fear was he did not hesitate with his answer; “Losing you during child birth.” This was a long developing fear, possibly even a fear of fatherhood itself.
My husband is a guarded man, but when he lets you in, there is nothing he wouldn’t do for you. I have seen this more now that he is a dad. Our pregnancy was a normal, healthy pregnancy through week 32, when I developed preeclampsia and was given bed rest. At week 34 I developed HELLP syndrome, sending me to the hospital. Death during childbirth was now a possibility.
My husband had cancer when he was in first grade and developed a very real fear of hospitals. Now he was going to have to be at a hospital everyday for two weeks. He can’t handle a routine check-up, how was he going to deal with a high risk delivery?
As soon as Reese was born, he rushed to her. He was at her side as soon as she was out of me. He went with her to the NICU, stayed there as she was hooked up to all the machines and he did not pass out. He was there for his little girl. It amazed me to watch him as he slept in my hospital room, walked through the ER each day to visit our tiny girl, carefully held her with all of her leads attached to her, and helped me to learn how to mother Reese through her isolette.
My husband was the one who took care of Reese those first critical days when I couldn’t be there. His care for Reese has changed over the months as her needs have changed. He was the one up with her every night from 10 to 2am. He said I had her all day and needed this break, even though he worked all day and also needed the break. When Reese hit the “cry it out” phase, he was the one who slept in the guest room next to Reese and literally got up every 20 minutes to reassure her. My husband is the one who swoops in to entertain Reese during the “witching hours” that time between afternoon nap and bed time. He comes up with new cute games to play and makes Reese belly laugh even though she is so tired. My husband created Saturday morning time, where he takes Reese for the morning and I can go off and not be a mommy for a while. What makes this remarkable is that he is a real estate agent, and weekends are supposed to be prime time. Not for him. My husband spends creative time working with clients while still putting his family first. There is nothing that he would not do for her, for me, for his family. No fear is great enough to stop this man, for he has already faced his biggest fear and won!

"Mr. Sun, sun , Mr. Golden Sun...Please shine down on me."

Yep...everyone knows we skipped spring this year in WA and stuck with winter for a while longer. The news tells us summer is on her way, possibly this weekend. But like doubting Thomas, I'll believe it when I see it. Instead of complaining, I am actually enjoying this cooler weather, for a couple of reasons anyway. I can still cook using my oven without worrying about the house getting to hot. The house does stay cool all night without the noise of a fan. I don't have to put sunscreen on Reese, which is quite the event! I can enjoy hot chocolate still and have ice cream...which ends up not being so good for the waist line. Reese can still wear a blanket overherself in the carseat, which helps to entertain her. I sleep better when it's cool and therefore believe that Reese does too. I am glad that the weather is not cold this long every year, but I am enjoying it right now......I must be changing from that socal girl into a nw girl......

Matt & Kimber Plus One

I really enjoy watching that show "Jon & Kate Plus 8". ( http://www.sixgosselins.com/ )For one, there is just something interesting about watching another person's life. When we went to the beach as a little girl, I always enjoyed people watching with my dad. We would make up stories about what we thought the other people were saying. Anyways, I like watching how Kate organizes everything. Maybe I feel a kinship towards her since she is a fellow NICU mom. (By the way, her 6 were born at 30 weeks and came home at 36 weeks with no problems...that is amazing!) I think what I appreciate most is that she seems to be so consistent with her discipline with all her kids. That is tough to do! Discipline appears to be lacking in our kiddos these days. I often wonder if I will be able to be as consistent with Reese as I would like to be. I also enjoy watching her kids grow up and seeing their personalities come alive. I am inspire to take Reese to more places as I watch this family travel so often with their 10. I enjoy the show, despite all the screaming and crying.....IF you watch this show what is it that draws you in?

"NICU itis"

Yep...That is the name of the disease that I have. Granted I know I was going to be an over protective mom just by my personality. But starting mothering off as a NICU mom didn't help that. Of course I didn't know any different. And there were some benefits. For one, I was able to recover the two weeks Reese was in the hospital. I don't know how you moms push those babies out and take them home the next day! That would be overwhelming! Being a NICU mom teaches you to have attention to every detail, or in my case obsess over numbers. For the first two weeks of her life, I knew her heart rate, respiration's, O2 level, exactly how much she had eaten and how much was left over in her stomach. There was something freeing about being able to be the one to take her leads off that last day. Yet at the same time my thought was "Now, how am I going to be able to tell if she is okay?" So I began my own charting....how long she nursed, what each diaper was like, how long she slept, and in the being I took her temperature with each diaper change....That's what we did in the NICU and so I continued that pattern at home. Well, I don't take her temp as often anymore, but I am still charting. My friend Nora made an entry for me the other day "Reese's 16th birthday....two carrots, one hamburger and on slice of cake!" Yes, I know I need to stop charting soon...maybe when we stop nursing....:)

Attention to detail

I am not sure if you can tell from this picture, but we girls all have the same nose. Kacy pointed it out first when she came to visit in December. Reese does have the "Tolar" nose, which is smaller on one side. I wonder if God has fun creating things like this so we can go "Wow! She has the same nose!" Matt was getting Reese ready for bed the other night when he discovered this wonder.....
"Hey babe...come look at Reese's nose...it's way smaller on this side!"
"Yes I know.... She has the Tolar nose...see look at mine."
"Whoa...that is weird!"
Weird or wonderful God sure does have every detail covered!

It's hard to remember.....is that okay?

In Costco the other day I met a baby that was a week old and only 6 lbs. He was so tiny. It made me think back to how small Reese used to be. And I had trouble remembering what she was like as a 4lb baby. So I pulled out the very first diaper she wore to help my memory. But I still had trouble contemplating it and I thought that was sad. Why is that sad? Those first few weeks, even month and a half of her tiny life were really hard. I was always afraid that she would break. Today, at about 20 lbs Reese seems a lot more durable to me. I am grateful that she can do more now and am anxiously looking forward to her doing even more. So I don't think it is sad that I can't remember Reese at that tiny size, rather I think it is amazing how much she has grown in 8 months....the longest and shortest months of my life. :)