A week with Mimi and Grandpa

We were fortunate enough to have lots of grandparent time this month. A week with Pops and CC on the East coast and a week with Grandpa and Mimi on the West. It was awesome to have my parents here. The only other time they have really been here was when Sadie was born and I was a little out of commission due to not being able to really walk that much. I was determined to show them the best of San Diego this time around. Unfortunately the day they got here, Sadie got sick. She must have caught a bug because the poor thing couldn't keep anything down. Although I think she was really enjoying not having to eat all her veggies and having Gatorade instead of water. My friend Dani told me about the "BRAT" diet where you feed a sick baby Bananas, Rice cereal, Applesauce, and Toast to help settle their stomach. This worked and she eventually got better a day later. She's really going to miss eating jello and having high fructose corn syrup in her sippy cup. At first I was a little frustrated that Sadie would get sick during the worst possible week but now that I look back it was the best time because with Chase working all day long, I would have have been home alone with Sadie and cleaning vomit all over the place with no one to help me. I was very grateful to have my parents there for support and for advice at the same time.

To make up for lost time we ran all over the place once she was feeling better. We went to La Jolla one day and shopped around on the main street out there. Sadie's favorite store was of course "Muttropolis" where she encountered a very friendly baby bulldog who loved her as much as she him. He licked her toes and she thought she had died and gone to heaven. It was hilarious. Mimi bought her a cell phone from Geppetos that looks extremely real and has been entertaining her ever since. We went on a hike in Torrey Pines and spent the rest of the day in Del Mar which is always fun. We also showed them the beautiful island of Coronado and walked on the beach for a while. It was a great trip and although their inflatable mattress deflated in the middle of the night, they seemed to have a great time hanging out with us but especially with Sadie Lady.
The highlight of the trip was seeing Mimi ride our little scooter. I didn't think I could ever get her on one of those things and she totally wanted to ride it. It was a very proud moment for all of us.
Grandpa took off one afternoon for hours exploring our surrounding with the wind rushing in his face. Knowing his views about the environment, I wouldn't be surprised if he purchased one himself so he could save a little more gas here and there. I love my parents!!!! I'm so glad they could come and see us!!!

Sadie and Walter Video

Cannon Beach Bums!!

It's about time we updated the blog seeing we've been home for a week from the Cannon family vacation in North Carolina. We had such a great time and even though we spent most of the time lounging on the beach, we made a lot of fun memories and it was so great for Sadie to be around all of her cousins. Sadie's cousins Ethan and James are around the same age so it was awesome watching them interact. Ethan was walking all over the place and was a great example to Sadie. By the time we left she wasn't just taking a step here and there, she was walking as her only mode of transportation. This was wonderful for the beach because she had a lot more fun walking around and playing in the inflatable pool than she has in the past here in San Diego. Before it was just a battle with the sunblock and the sand on her face and that was never fun. It's amazing what a difference two feet of elevation can make!!





Of course every day, we had to go on a search for doggies because we couldn't say no to the constant "uuff..ufffs" from Sadie. I've mentioned this before, but she is absolutely obsessed with dogs. She has learned a lot of new animal sounds. She can do the elephant while using her arm as the trunk, the monkey, gorilla, cat, and just learned to snort like a little piggy. It cracks me up every time she does the elephant. She was drilled by the older cousins to say lots of new words as well. She can now say "duck, ball, moon, ma ma, daddy, dog, no" and a strange language we call "talking." She likes to read to herself now and goes off in this cute little gibberish as she turns the pages. She's also learned to give kisses but only when she feels like it and it usually ends up being a big mouth of slobber on your cheek. We're having so much fun watching her learn how to do all these things. She loved watching and attempting to fly a kite as well.

She turned into a cuddle bug on the beach. I think the crashing waves worried her a little so for the first time since she was an newborn, she actually nuzzled up and cuddled with us as we sat on beach chairs. Before she was usually so hyper that this would have only lasted for a half of a second.

She took a lot of naps on the beach usually in Pops arms as he watched everyone play in the water around him or build that day's sand castle before the tide swept it away.

Overall, it was a great trip and even the long flight to D.C. was awesome. Sadie is just a great traveler. She even surprised a lot of the passengers on board at how pleasant she was. We are lucky parents!!
Chase just relished the short time of not having to read a law book. He also gave up his five month resolution to not have sugar and boy did he give it up. He couldn't handle watching everyone eat candy around him and he totally fell off the wagon. He says it's the best wagon he's ever fallen off of. He went from no sugar to eating fruit loops for every meal, gummy bears in between, and m&m's for dessert. I've got him back under control now that we're home and actually had a little argument in the cereal isle over a box of fruit loops that we were most certainly NOT going to by. He says he'll just come back and get them when I'm not looking. It wouldn't be the first time. Once he bought a huge case of coke from Costco and hid it in his closet. I guess we can officially call him a "closet drinker." Obviously we have different views on nutrition in our home.

I had a great time with all of the other moms and we actually handed all the kids over to the husbands one morning and went out for a morning of shopping and pedicures. It was awesome!!


Also, before we made the drive down to the Outer Banks, we had lunch with an old friend of mine from college and her little girl who is Sadie's age as well. Seeing that we are living in D.C. for the fall, I think it's safe to say Sadie and baby Lizzie will become very good little buddies. It was so fun meeting back up with Jess at our favorite restaurant...Cosi.


Well I can hear Sadie stirring in her crib which means it's time to sign off. Until next time. Here's some more pictures of the trip:


CC and Sadie in matching attire for church.

















Sadie upon discovering a doggie!!!














Sadie and her uncle Heber just chilling on the beach

Sea World

So we took Sadie to Sea World for the first time and she loved it!! There were a couple of times when the dolphins splashed the audience that she got a little scared and screamed her head off. We think sudden movements and screaming scare her a little bit. If I tickle Chase or vice-versa she shows a little distress. She's in a sensitive stage right now. She got to see the dolphin show, a doggie show, and of course the Shamu show. I can't believe how big that whale is!! We have a friend here who plays for the Chargers so he can get into all of the parks for free. It was kind of cool walking through the back entrance. I felt very high profile. We also rode the roller coaster which was sooooooooooo fun. Definitely not as scary as the State Line roller coaster but a lot of fun. The coolest part was that because we were doing a kid swap with the other couple we came with we got to go to the front of the line. Having a baby definitely has it's advantages.

Sadie takes her first steps

Sadie has been teasing us with little steps now and then for about a month but on Mother's Day she gave me the best gift ever and walked 8 consecutive steps in the middle of the floor with out any support. It was so overwhelming that it made Mom (and Dad...shhh) weep tears of joy. Our little baby is growing up!!

Sadie's real birthday

So Chase and I were so excited to celebrate Sadie's birthday with her but everything seemed to go wrong that day. It's actually quite humorous in retrospect. The first thing we did was go into her room with a video camera singing "happy birthday" as she first woke up from a nap. She's seemed a little distressed which was a strange considering she's usually all smiles when she first wakes up. Well, we continued singing and now when we watch the video we can plainly see that her leg was stuck in between the wood crib. Poor thing was trying to tell us and all we wanted to do was sing to her. I eventually figured it out when I tried to get her out of bed and she was unmovable. So sad. So after she had recovered from her first traumatic experience of the day we tried to give her some birthday cake because she didn't like it at her birthday party a couple of days earlier. We were dumb enough to actually light a candle and place it in front of her. Of course she tried to grab the flame and when I gasped and intervened it scared her so much so cried for the next ten minutes. (See picture below) There was nothing we could do to console her. Sadie is a tender hearted little thing, but this was just extremely unusual behavior for a baby who has a cupcake in front of her. So I ended up eating her cupcake..yum..and she had her lunch of Yogurt and applesauce (what she wanted in the first place.) We decided that on her birthday Chase would take a break from studying and we would visit all the places that Sadie loves. She went to the zoo in the morning and the beach in the afternoon. She loved the zoo, as always, but had a hard time at the beach because the water was too cold and it scared her a little bit. We hope we aren't raising a wimp but even I won't get in that water with out a wet suit. When we finally got home we ended up putting her to bed an hour earlier than usual because she was so cranky. Some birthday. The poor thing had a miserable day. So we've decided that from now on we aren't going to try so hard to please a one year old when birthdays come around again. We'll just stick to the old routine and let her play with my wallet. That's all she wants to do all day anyway. Also, on the eve of a birthday we won't keep her up until 11 p.m. watching the jazz game at the Jeffries. No wonder she was such a mess. GO JAZZ!!

Sadie tells us her life story at 6 weeks old in the video below.

Hello everyone. Well Chase is studying again (actually I'm looking over there and he's actually sleeping...poor guy is totally wiped out), so I thought I would update our blog now that Sadie has finally gone down for a nap. Today we celebrated Sadie's birthday with her friend Tanner Swenson. It was hilarious watching the two of them and how differently they reacted to the cake. Sadie didn't want a thing to do with it. She thought the candle was pretty neat but thought all the sweet stuff underneath was nothing to write home about. Tanner on the other hand, chowed down and had frosting all over his face. Sadie had more fun watching him get all messy than eating her own cake. It was a pool party so a bunch of us San Diegans got together to celebrate in the warm sunny weather. I'm going to try again with the cake on Sadie's real birthday (the 8th) and see if she really doesn't like it. A part of me hopes she doesn't. We don't need any more sweet teeth around here.

So good news. Chase was hired on by Judge Swift in the United States Tax Court. This means two things; 1) we will be moving to D.C. in the fall, and 2) he won't be working for the SEC after all because the Judge wants him full time. We are so excited to get back to D.C. where we first met and fell in love (cheesy, I know) and to have Sadie there with us. As for this summer, we are staying here where Chase will be working for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Corporations. I love San Diego so I'm glad we get to be here for the best time of the year....summer!!! We plan on spending a lot of time at the beach and the pool. All we can think of right now is just getting finals week behind us. It's amazing to think that Sadie was born right in between two of Chase's finals last year. I'm proud of him for always being such a great dad and husband to me but also being able to handle all the studying as well. What a guy!!

Well, that's all for now. I'll write more when finals are done and we are all sane again.

Hello all. I am finally updating our family blog. Seeing that the Poelmans are now leaving us we feel this will be a good way to stay in touch with everyone whether they be in San Diego or Utah. Chase's is near the end of his second year which means finals are just around the corner. He's studying as I write this, the poor thing. Luckily for all of us, he actually enjoys law school and is looking forward to working with the Department of Corporations and the Department of Agriculture this summer. We also plan on moving out to our favorite city, D.C. (where we met), where Chase will be working for the SCC and hopefully working for Judge Swift in the US Tax Court. We're excited about this because we have a lot of family back East. I have been working for a CPA tax firm for a couple of months. I actually worked there last year when I was pregnant with Sadie lady. They have been very flexible with my "mommy" schedule and fortunately I only work when Chase is home with the lady. Sadie is a crack up. Her new thing is to say "da da da da" but she actually sings it. She repeats( or tries to) little things we say to her. She's on her way to walking. She loves standing but can get around so well crawling that she'd rather use that mode of transportation for now. She is OBSESSED with doggies. She also LOVES to read. We usually read her a book every night before she goes to bed, but lately we been reading all day long. She can't get enough of them (especaily the ones that have doggies in them). Her first birthday is coming up on May 8th. We are so excited for this day but can't believe how fast it has gone by. Crazy stuff. We're a happy little family and hope you all are as well. Peace out!!

We just got back from Utah for the Christmas holidays and we are SO happy to be back. I think I missed Sadie's crib more than she did. Our little lady is growing up. She is crawling all over the place, pulling herself up (and falling down) and eating cheerios!!! She even got two little "teef" for christmas so eating has become more fun for her. She still doesn't have any hair and we aren't planning on seeing a vast imporvment on that any time soon. As for us, the parents....as if we matter anymore..but we are doing just great. I got an electric piano and a food processor for Christmas so I can practice my songs and continue making Sadie's baby food. Chase and I gave eachother "The Office" so we watched a lot of that over the holidays. It's good to be back and in better weather. Gotta love San Diego. I do wish we could start going to the beach some time soon. In the mean time we'll stick to hot tubbing.

Sheesh, Toots and the Little Lady

Hello all. It's about 80 degrees here and it's December 8th!!!

She's Beautiful!!

Sadie Coos

Life as a family

Life with Sadie has been fantastic. Sleep deprived but fantastic to say the least! With finals week behind us we have been having so much fun just enjoying this new little person in our family.
We love dressing her, bathing her, and taking her on walks. She is NOT a fan of the stroller but loves being snuggled in the Bjorn backpack.

We mostly just walk through the other apartment complexes and enjoy the beautiful San Diego weather. Other days we'll venture out and go see some sights of San Diego. She's too young for sun block but we take her to the pool anyway and keep her in the shade. She's too cute in her little bikini to not show her off to everyone.
She loves to sleep on Chase's chest and he loves it too. We're working on the whole sleeping through the night thing. I read Baby Wise twice to ensure that I knew what I was doing when she arrived and I still feel like a basket case. They say to start implementing the tactics at 10 days but I feel like letting your newborn"scream it out" for 45 minutes is just too brutal.
Chase and I about died after 10 minutes while we were trying to eat dinner. She really wants to be held all the time. It's crazy around here!!! Tommi Hymas lent us her swing and that helps a little. Sadie will last about 5 minutes in there before she starts screaming again. I still remember putting her in there the first time and watching her quietly swing back and forth. Chase and I embraced because we thought we were "out of the woods" but then she started screaming again. Whoever said parenting was easy was WRONG! (Has anyone ever said parenting is easy?)

We have since retrieved a copy of Happiest Baby on the Block (thanks Heidi) and feel like we finally have a little more control. The five S's (swing, suck, side lay, swaddle and SHHH) have saved us these last couple of weeks. Swaddling along with the Baby Wise method has really worked and at 6 weeks our little lady slept 6 hours through the night!! It was so amazing to sleep longer than three consecutive hours. I am one of those people that goes completely crazy without enough sleep (just ask Chase:-).

Another problem we've encountered is how sore and painful it's been nursing Sadie. She had a tongue tie that had to be clipped because she had left me practically raw on both sides. Sometimes when she would have a spit up she would cough up some of my blood she had somehow ingested. It scared me to DEATH!! Was it her's or my blood? It was her's but that in itself was need to panic. Everytime she latched on, my body would shake in pain. It was awful!!

Once we clipped her tongue at about two weeks I healed a little more every day. I only had a hand pump (the electric ones were too expensive) and it took FOREVER to pump out her meals 6 times a day!! The sacrifice of a mother I guess. Now that I'm healed and don't tremble at the thought of feeding her every 3 hours, life is much better.

Now that she's sleeping a little more and I've got the feeding thing down, I'm not as crazy and Chase can finally have his wife back...sort of. I don't know how long it will take this whole sleep deprivation thing to wear off:-) We love our little Sadie so much that through it all, it's been more than worth the midnight feedings, and the ban on "regular music" and television.
From what I've read children should not watch TV until age two because it causes ADHD. Too many images for them to process. Mozart is supposed to make them bright and smart so Sadie has a little CD player in her room and listens to soothing tunes while she naps. I like to think she'll be a genuis one day:-). I'll never forget eating my turkey sandwiches in the car while on my lunch break at Hinzman and Associates so Sadie could hear some Mozart from the radio. I would blast that music in hopes that she could hear it from the womb. I still can't believe she's here. So surreal and superb all at once!!

Finals week

Well she's only been around for about a month and we're are MADLY in love with this little one. I really can't look at her with out choking up a bit. There's a saying that you love

your kids so much, you want to eat them....well I really just want to squeeze, kiss and hug this little thing until she's all gobbled up!! It's been so nice to have some visitors this week. We couldn't have picked a worse due date...right during Chase's finals!! He feels so torn because he just wants to be home with this little baby and has to study ALL the time. First year law students have a ridiculously hard schedule and I feel so bad for him right now.

Em came with Ruby three days after Sadie was born and it was heavenly to have her there. Chase felt like he could leave to study and I had company to keep me sane. I love my sisters. I wish we could all live next door to each other. My friends (the Jefferies) work for Jet Blue so they gave her some buddy passes to fly here. It was so nice of them!

Dad came a couple days later and then Mom right after that. They were so good at getting me up and walking around. We went to the zoo, Ikea, and toured San Diego a bit. I was pretty sore for about two weeks and I think it was good for them to have me walk it off. It was also mother's day that following Sunday so we got to celebrate with Mom.

I wanted to go to church even though I as pretty much still waddling at that point. It was my first Mother's Day and I really wanted to be sung to by all the primary kids. I was ridiculously emotional and it probably wasn't a good idea, but I got my flowers anyway and was later told by the other moms at the ward that usually when you have a baby, you stay home for a couple of weeks, if not a month. I'll have to remember that the next time around.

When everyone was getting ready to leave I was really sad and begged Em to stay a little longer. My mom asked me if I was scared to be alone with the baby and I wasn't ashamed to say "yes." I don't know what I'm doing!!! I hope I will be a good mother. Everything is so wonderful and foreign at the same time. My life has turned completely in a different direction. I guess I just want Em to be there as my "training wheels" for a while. It was so fun to have them here and I am so grateful they traveled so far to help.

Now that finals are over Chase and I can really sit down and enjoy this new precious gift we have been given. I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

She's home!

I have finally come out of my cave. It's been a hectic week and wonderful at the same time. Sadie ended up coming right in the middle of finals at USD. Chase studied in the hospital room and then took off to the library once my parents and Em arrived. As long as someone was there I didn't worry if he left for a while. I'm still scared to be alone with a new baby.

We still can't believe they let us take her home with us. With him studying all night at the hospital I was on Sadie duty most of the time. By the time we were ready to go home they sent a social worker to my room after a breakdown in one of the Baby at Home classes. I was crying because I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open and I was so sore I couldn't get out of my chair. Back in my room (after some serious feet shuffling) I had finally fallen asleep and Chase told her I wasn't depressed, just tired and if anyone else woke me up I would probably lose it! Why do people keep coming in my room!!

Chase and I were talking about the fact that usually it takes a while to meet and come to love a person. In contrast, it's amazing how with a baby it takes less than a second to instantaneously fall in love with this new little person in your life. My heart is literally bursting!! I love this little girl so much!! She is such a little sweetheart and very well tempered (nothing like her mother) and is absolutely adorable. I wish all everyone could see her! Well I need to go feed her again so toodles for now.

She's here!

This post has been a long time coming. I've had very little time to even sleep let along write, read, or do anything for myself:-) Chase and I welcomed our little Sadie Elizabeth 12 days ago on May 8th, 2:30 p.m. She is a chunky little thing. She weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 22 inches long! She's absolutely perfect! In fact, I can't look at her without weeping. I really feel as if I have a heavenly being in my presence.

It all started on Monday morning around 2 a.m. when I started to feel some contractions. At first I wasn't sure because we had a false alarm in April. After about an hour I finally woke up Chase and we started timing the contractions until about 5 a.m. when they were five minutes apart and hurting me like crazy. In fact they hurt so bad I almost vomited from the pain. I started to get really scared and cried in bed while Chase rubbed my back. I love him! We decided this was the real thing and headed to the hospital. When we got there I was dilated to a 5 and they strapped me up to a monitor to see if Sadie's heartbeat was regular and healthy. I still remember squeezing Chase's hand during each contraction. It was an awful feeling of pain. The nurse finally told us that these were real contractions and that we were on our way to have a baby!

This immediately made me emotional and I got a little teary knowing that I was about to meet my very first daughter, Sadie Elizabeth Cannon. They took me up to the delivery room and got me all ready. First they put an IV in my veins so I wouldn't dehydrate and then the doctor came in to give me the WONDERFUL epidural. He was such a great doctor (way better than my OB). I was really scared for the needle but his English accent helped distract me. All of a sudden the pain went away and I was totally relaxed. Those women that go natural are CRAZY!! Epidurals and the BEST!!

Chase studied for his final while I tried to read my book. Chase eventually couldn't focus and read my book to me. My water broke and I was dilated to a ten before I knew it. My OB (Dr. Stanco ...name fits the person for sure) was at her clinic with other patients. She told the nurses to have me start pushing, thinking it would take me a while to get Sadie out. She was wrong. I pushed for about and hour and her head appeared w/ no doctor, just the nurse who was actually wonderful (I wish she could have delivered the baby). Dr. Stanco finally came after making me wait 45 minutes (while Sadie just hung out, ripe and ready) and 15 minutes later we had a little Sadie!!

Chase watched the whole thing as her head and then shoulders appeared. He was very brave. I thought he would faint seeing all the blood but he did very well. He even cut the umbilical cord. I loved Chase before, but after going through this with him I literally love him a million times more! He was so great. He just kept kissing my forehead as we both wept and watched our little lady give her first itty bitty cry. She was actually quite calm afterwards and hardly even cried. Chase said she gave a huge frown and screamed when she came out. Cute!

I still can't believe we have a baby! Even now that it's been some time, I still have a hard time believing that she is mine and I get to keep her forever! The first week was good and bad. Sadie ate like a little piggy but nursing her was VERY painful. I didn't know she had a tongue tie so I battled through the pain because I was told by everyone it would get better. Well it didn't. Every time I would begin feeding her my body would shake with pain. I was completely raw!! When Sadie started spitting up my blood I knew we had a problem. I wanted to nurse her for a year and was determined but it hurt so bad!

Finally a week later her pediatrician (saint of all saints) discovered her tongue tie and sent us to an ENT to get it clipped. Chase had finals through this whole saga and was totally stressed out. Luckily my family was here so my Dad came with me to her appointment. I couldn't bare to go alone. I couldn't handle seeing Sadie in any form of pain so I went into the hallway while Grandpa stayed with her. I prayed the whole time in the hallway that God would comfort her. Through tears and an emotional breakdown I was absolutely overwhelmed with love for my little girl. Mama bear kicked in and I felt horrible that someone was causing her pain. It turns out Sadie was much braver than her Mom and barely cried. So after pumping for a month (hand pump...too poor for the good electric one) I finally healed and Sadie no longer bites down when she eats. I guess I can nurse her for her first year after all. Only the best for my little Sadie Lady!

Sadie Elizabeth Cannon!!

Sadie Elizabeth Cannon has arrived.....
May 8 2006 at 2:30 PM San Diego time...
8 pounds 1 ounce, 22 inches..... extremely beautiful....
More pics to follow.....

BORED!!

Well I don't know about this whole pregnancy thing.  I am SO sick of waiting for Sadie to come out.  My doctor offered to induce her on Tuesday because I am dilated to almost a 4!!  However, I said I wanted to wait for her to come on her own.  (Mom's orders..she's always right. My doctor will be out of town this weekend so I might be delivering with some people I don't know very well.  She offered to induce me because she'll be out of town for my due date. My thoughts are that because she's a High Risk Pregnancy Specialist and I'm low risk, she's taking a vacation because she doesn't have to worry about me.   I don't like her anymore. Actually, I never really liked her.  She was ALL business and wasn't nice to me during the gender ultrasound and told me to stop being so excited about the sex and to focus more on the health of the baby.  She also hurts me during cervical exams. Sometimes I think these  unmarried and sad women doctors have a serious chip on their shoulders.  Geez!  If you're so worried about the health of my baby, why are you going out of town during her due date.  LAME!

I took all of the advise from friends and bought a pack and play.  I think it will be good in case I feel like having her nearby  in our bedroom.  I still haven't made up my mind.  Anywho, I am guessing that I will be at church on Sunday. I have a strange feeling Sadie will be taking her time. I hope this isn't the case. Waiting for a baby to come is so boring. I have done just about everything I can think of to occupy my mind. It doesn't help that my last day of work was a couple of weeks ago. Oh well. She'll be worth the wait:-)

Holy Freaking Canolli

I'm about to have a baby and I'm laughing at what a whale I am.  I've never been this big...ever!!  I think I've gained 55 pounds!  Holy moly!!  I know we're poor but do you think I could afford a shirt that covers my belly for Pete's sake?!!  What on earth was I thinking with the above ensemble?  These maternity khakis are absolutely hideous!  They used to be ridiculously comfortable until my belly got so huge they are now constantly being pushed down and I look like I'm going for the "pregnant gangsta look" (it's hot...don't deny it:-).  I am sooooo ready for this baby to come out!!

The ONLY reason I am posting these pictures is because they're absolutely and wretchedly HILARIOUS!!  Pregnant women just look funny and that's all there is to it.  Your welcome!